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All about Batter sea
Henry S. Simmonds
■ Mv£"*&B£-'£-
Gdcfele
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gdl gtfarot gattaa,
BY
HENRY S. SIMMONDS.
S. MARY'S, built according to Act of Parliament, 14 Geo. III. Opened Nov.
17, 1777. About 1823 an Entrance Portico of the Doric order was added.
fLonHon :
ASHFIELD, PRINTER, BRIDGE ROAD WEST, BATTERSEA.
1882.
j^ ,V/-\f . Z&+<y 8! ^; edbyGoogl(
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Wbi» email Volume
IS MOST
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED (by PERMISSION)
TO
THE REV. JOHN ERSKINE CLARKE, M.A.,
Honorary Canon of Winchester, Vicar of Battersea ;
AND TO THE
INHABITANTS IN GENERAL.
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INDEX,
Page,
Introduction.
Nine Elms Lane. — The King's Champion . . . , 3
Thome's Brewery. — What Battersea has been called 4
London and South Western Railway Company's Goods Station and
Locomotive Works 4 — 7
Mill-Pond Bridge.— New Road 8
A Royal Sturgeon caught in the wheel of the Mill at Mill-Pond Bridge 9
Wallace's Vitriol Works 10
Sleaford Street.— Coal 11
Street Lighting 12—13
London Gas-Light Company's Works and "Vauxhall Gardens . . , . 14 — 23
On a recently-exposed Section at Battersea 23^24
Phillips' Fire Annihilating Machine Factory Destroyed. — Brayne's
Pottery.— The Old Lime Kilns.— Laver's Cement & Whiting Works 25
The Southwark and Vauxhall Water Works 20
Water Carriers and Water Companies 27 — 29
The Village of Battersea.— Growth of the Parish 30— 31
Boundaries. — A Legal Contest between Battersea and Clapham Parishes.
Clapham Common 32 — 33
Lavender Hill. — The Seat of William Wilberforce. — Eminent Supporters
of the Anti-Slavery Movement. — Frances Elizabeth Leveson Gower.
Mr. Thornton. — Pnilip Cazenove. — Charles Curling. Lady George
Pollock, and others 34 — 36
Battersea Market Gardens and Gardeners 36— 37
Stages set out for Battersea from the City. — Annual Fair. — Inhabitants
supplied with Water from Springs. — The Manor of Battersea before
the Conquest . . 38
Battersea ana its association with the St. Johns 39
Henry St. John Lord Viscount Bolingbroke 40 — 42
A Horizontal Air Mill • . . . • 43
St. Mary's Church 44—46
The Indenture .. .. .. 47 — 48
Epitaphs and Sepulchral Monuments %. 49—51
Rectory and Vicarage 52
A Petition or Curious Document 53
Br. Thomas Temple. — Dr. Thomas Church 54
Cases of Longevity. — The Plague. — The Three Plague Years.— Deaths
in Battersea 55—56
Vicars of Battersea from Olden Times 56—57
Thomas Lord Stanley. — Lawrence Booth .. r 57
York House 58
Battersea Enamel Works. — Porcelain. — Jens Wolfe, Esq. — Sherwood
Lodge. — Price's Patent Candle Factory . . . . , . . . 59—62
Candlemas 63 — 64
The Saw. — Marklsambard Brunei's Premises at Battersea. — Establishment
for the preservation of timber from the dry rot burnt down . , , . . 65
History of the Ferry.— The Old Wooden Bridge 66—67
Albert Suspension Bridge 68—69
Chelsea Suspension Bridge 70
The Prince of Wales.— Freeing the Bridges " For Ever " .. . . . 71—73
The Stupendous Railway Bridge across the Thames 74
The spot where Caesar and his legions are stated by some antiquarians to
have crossed the river 75
A haunted house. — Battersea Fields. — Duel between the Duke of
Wellington and Lord Winchelsea 76
The Red House 77
" Gyp " tkeRayen.— Billy the Nutman.— Sports 78
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INDEX.
Pao«
" The Old House at Home."— Sabbath Desecration 79
Her Majesty's Commissioners empowered by Act of Parliament to form
a Royal Park in Battersea Fields.— Wild Flowers.— Battersea Park 80—84
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company's two Circular
Engine Sheds and West-End Goods Traffic Department . . . . 85 — 86
Long Hedge Farm. — London, Chatham and Dover Railway Locomotive
Works 87—90
A Canvas Cathedral . . 91
HP. Horse Nail Company's Factory . . 94
St. George's Church, its clergy, its graveyard, .epitaphs and inscriptions
(St. Andrew's Temporary Iron Church 96; 95 — 99
Christ Church, its clergy 100
St. John's Church . . 101
St. Paul's Church 102
St. Philip's Church 163
St. Mark's Church 104
St. Luke's Chapel-of-Ease 105
St. Saviour's Church' . . •• 106
St.Peter's Church 107
Temporary Church of the Ascension.— St. Michael's Church . . . . 108
All Saints' Temporary Iron Church. — Rochester Diocesan Mission, St.
James', Nine Elms ill
St. Aldwin's Mission Chapel. — The Church of our Lady of Mount
Carmel and St. Joseph 112
Church of the Sacred Heart. — The Old Baptist Meeting House, Revs.
Mr. Browne, Joseph Hughes, MA., (John Foster), Edmund
Clark, Enoch Crook, I. M. Soule, Charles Kirtland ., .. 113 — 116
Baptist Temporary Chapel, Surrey Lane 1 16
Battersea Park Temporary Baptist Chapel .. 117
Baptist (Providence) Chapel 118
Baptist Chapel, Chatham Road. — Wesleyan Methodist Mission Room
and Sunday School.— United Methodist Free Church, Church
Road, Battersea.— The United Methodist Free Church, Battersea
Park Road 119
Primitive Methodist Chapel, New Road . . 120
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Grayshott Road. — Primitive Methodist
Chapel, Plough Lane 121
St. George's Mission Hall. — Battersea Congregational Church, (In-
dependent), Bridge Road 122
Stormont Road Congregational Church, Lavender Hill . . . . . , 123
Wesleyan Methodism in Battersea.. 124 — 126
Methodist Chronology 127
Wesleyan Chapel, Queen's Road 128
Free Christian Church, Queen's Road 129
Trinity Mission Hall, Stewart's Lane. — Plymouth Brethren . . , , 130
" The Little Tabernacle."— Thomas Blood 131
Battersea Priory. — Alien Priories 132
Ursulines 132 — 134
Battersea Grammar School, St. John's Hill . . . . . . . . 134
The Southlands Practising Model Schools. — St. Peter's Schools. — St.
Saviour's Infant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , 135
Christ Church National Schools. — St. George's National Schools. —
Voluntary Schools 136
London Board Schools . . . . 137
London School Board, Lambeth Division 138
The Elementary Education Acts. — Regulations affecting Parent and
Child 139—140
A Coffee Palace. — Latchmere Grove.— Plague Spots. — The Shaftes-
bury Park Estate 141 — 142
The Metropolitan Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Association . . 143 — 144
Latchmere Allotments.— Dove Dale Place. — An Old Boiler. — Lammas
Hall. — The Union Workhouse . . , . 14c
Old Battersea Workhouse.— The " Cage."— The " Stocks." . . . . 146
The Falcon Tavern. — A Cantata 147
Origin of Bottled Ale in England.— "Ye Plough Inn."— "The Old
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INDEX.
Page.
House."— Stump oi* an Old Oak Tree 148
" Lawn House," Lombard Road. — The Prizes for the Kean's Sovereigns
and the Funny Boat Race.— The Old Swan Tavern.— Royal
Victoria Patriotic Schools . . . . 149
St. James' Industrial Schools. — Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . . 150
Clapham Junction. — Battersea Provident Dispensary 151
Wandsworth Common Provident Dispensary. — Charity Organization
Society. — The Penny Bank. — No. 54 Metropolitan Fire Brigade
Station. — Origin of Fire Brigades .. 152
The Metropolitan Police. — Police Stations, Battersea. — St. John's
College of the National Society 153
The Vicarage House School. — Various Wharves and Factories . . 154
Mr. George Chadwin. — T. Gaines. — Tow's Private Mad House. — The
Patent Plumbago Crucible Company's Works 155
Silicated Carbon Filter Company's Works . . . . . . 156
Condy's Manufactory.— Citizen Steamboat Company's Works . . . . 157
Orlando Jones & Co.'s Starch Works 157 — 159
Battersea Laundries. — Spiers and Pond's. — Propert's Factory. — The
London and Provincial Steam Laundry 159—160
St. Mary's (Battersea) Cemetery. — Numerous Epitaphs and Inscriptions.
Scale of Fees, etc 161— 175;
The Battersea Charities 175
Parish Officers. — Vestrymen 176 — 17b
Battersea Tradesmen's Club. — Temporary Home for Lost and Starving
Dogs 179 — [80
London, Chatham and Dover Railway— Battersea Park Station— York
Road Station (Brighton Line). — West London Commercial Bank.
London and South Western Bank. — Temperance ani Band of
Hope Meetings. — South London Tramways in Battersea — Fares. . 180 — 181
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frttrofttctton*
London, after the lapse of centuries, has been compared to an old
ship that has been repaired and rebuilt till not one of its original
timbers can be found; so marvellous are the changes and trans-
mutations which have come over the "town upon the lake" or,
harbour for ships as London was anciently called, that if a Celt, or a
Roman, or a Saxon, or a Dane, or a Norman, or a Citizen of Queen
Elizabeth's time were to awake from his long slumber of death,
he would no more know where he was, and would be as strangely
puzzled as an Englishman of the present generation would be, who
had never stirred further than the radius of the Metropolis, sup-
posing him to be conveyed by some supernatural agency one night
to China, who, on rising the next morning finds himself surrounded
by the street-scenery of the city of Pekin. Costumes, manners,
language, inhabitants have all changed ! Viewed from a geological
stand-point, even the soil on which New London stands is not the
same as that on which Old London stood. The level of the site of
the ancient city was much lower than at present, for there are
found indications of Roman highways, and floors of houses, twenty
feet below the existing pathways. There are probable grounds for
supposing the Surrey side to have been some nineteen hundred
years ago a great expanse of water. London so called for several
ages past, is a manifest corruption from Tacitus' s Londinium which
was not however its primitive name this famous place existed before
the arrival of Caesar in the Island, and was the capital of the
Trinohantes or TrinouanUs, and the seat of their kings. The name
of the nation as appears from Baxter's British Glossary, was
derived from the three following British words, tri, nou, bant,
which signify the 'inhabitants of the new city.' This name it is
supposed might have been given them by their neighbours on
account of their having newly come from the Continent (Belgium)
into Britain and having there founded a city called tri-now or the
(new city) the most ancient name of the renowned metropolis of
Britain * Some have asserted that a city existed on the spot 1107
years before the birth of Christ, and 354 years before the founda-
tion of Rome. The fables of Geoffrey of Monmouth state that
London was founded by Brute (or Brutus) a descendant of the
• The inhabitants of ancient Britain derived their origin partly from an original
colony of Celtae, partly from a mixed body of Gauls and Germans. None of them
cultivated the ground ; they all lived by raising cattle and hunting. Their dress
consisted of skins, their habitations were huts of wicker-work covered with rushes.
Their Priests the Druids together with the sacred women, exercised a kind ot
authority over them.
Britain according to Aristotle , was the name which the Romans gave to Mod-
ern England and Scotland. This appellation is, perhaps derived from the old
word brit, partly coloured, it having been customary with the inhabitants to paint
their bodies.
According to the testimony of Pliny and Aristotle, the Island in remotest times:
bore' the name of Albion.
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V HJTRODttCTIOtf.
Trojan iEneas the son of Venus and called New Troy, or Troy
Novant until the time of Lud, who surrounded it with walls, and
gave it the name Caer Lud, or Lud's town etc. Leigh, A certain
Lord Mayor when pleading before Henry VI. assumed from this
mythological story with a view to establish a claim to London's
priority of existence over the city of Borne. The Celts the ancestors
of the Britons and modern Welsh were the first inhabitants of
Britain. The earliest records of the history of this island are the
manuscripts and the poetry of the Cambrians. Britain was called
by the Eomans Britannia from its Celtic name Prydhain. Camden
We need not tarry to discuss whether Londinium originally was
in Cantium or Kent the place fixed by Ptolemy and some other
ancient writers of good authority, or whether its original place
were Middlesex, or whether situated both north and south of the
Tamewis Thames. The Trinobantes occupied Middlesex and Essex
they joined in opposing the invasion of Julius Caesar 54 B.o. ; but
were among the first of the British States who submitted to the
Romans their new City at that time being too inconsiderable a
place for Caesar to mention. Having revolted from the Roman
yoke they joined their beautiful Queen Boadicea and were defeated
by Suetonius Paulinus near London a.d. 61. But before reducing
the Trinobantes who had the Thames for their southern boundary,
it is the opinion of some antiquarians that the Romans probably
had a station to secure their conquests on the Surrey side, and the
spot fixed upon for the station is St. George's in the fields a large
plot of ground situated between Lambeth and Southwark, where
many Roman coins, bricks, chequered pavements and other frag-
ments of antiquity have been found. Three Roman ways from
Kent, Surrey and Middlesex intersected each other in this place.
It is thought that after the Normans reduced the Trinobantes the
place became neglected and that they afterwards' settled on the
other side of the Thames and the name was transferred to the New
City. The author of a work entitled " London in Ancient and
Modern times." p.p. 12 and 13 writes. — >Let the reader picture to
himself the aspect of the place now occupied by the great Metropolis,
as the Romans saw it on their first visit. He should imagine the
Counties of Kent and Essex, now divided by the Thames, partially
overflowed in the vicinity of the river by an arm of the sea, so that
a broad estuary comes up as far as Greenwich, and the waters
spread on both sides washing the foot of the Kentish uplands to
the south, and finding a boundary to the north in the gently rising
ground of Essex. The mouth of the river, properly speaking was
situated three or four miles from where London Bridge now stands.
Instead of being confined between banks as at present, the river
The Sea by which Britain is surrounded, was generally called, the Western^
the Atlantic ^ or Hesperian Ocean. Herodotus informs us that the Phoenicians,
Greeks, and Carthagenians, especially the first were acquainted with it from the
earliest period and obtained tin there and designated it Tin Island, The name
Great Britain was applied to England and Scotland after James I. ascended the
English throne in 1603. England and Scotland however had separate Parliaments
till 1st of May 1707, when daring the reign of Queen Anne the Island was desig-
nated by the name of the United Kingdom of Greit Britain. The terms at first
excited the utmost dissatisfaction ; but the progress of time has shown it to be
4he greatest blessing that either nation could have experienced.
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DTTEODtrOTlON.
Yl
overflowed extensive marshes, which lay both right and left beyond
London. Sailing up the broad stream, the voyager would find the
waters spreading far on either side of him, as he reached the spots
now known as Chelsea and Battersea — a fact of which the record
is preserved in their very names. A tract of land rises on the
north side of the river. It is bounded to the west by a range of
country, subject to inundations, consisting of beds of rushes and
osiers and boggy grounds and impenetrable thickets, intersected by
streams. It is bounded to the north by a large dense forest, rising
on the edge of a waste fen or lake, covering the whole district now
called Finsbury and stretching away for miles beyond. This tract
of land, rising in a broad knoll, formed the site of London.
An old writer says "it is now certain that the spot, (viz, St.
George's in the Fields) on which the city was described to have
stood, was an extensive marsh or lake, reaching as far as Camber-
well hills, until by drains and embankments, the Romans recovered
all the lowlands about the parts now called St. George's Fields,
Lambeth etc., London never stood on any other spot than the
Peninsular, on the northern banks, formed by the Thames in front;
by the river Fleet on the west; and by the stream afterwards named
Walbrook on the East. An immense forest originally extended to
the river side, and, even as late as the reign of Henry II. covered
the northern neighbourhood of the city, and was filled with various
species of beasts of chase. It was defended naturally by fosses, one
formed by the creek which ran along the Fleet ditch, the other by
that of Walbrook. The south side was protected by the.j river
Thames, and the north by the adjacent forest."
In the reign of Nero the first notice of Londinium or, Londinuai
occurs in Tacitus (Ann xiv. 33.) where it is spoken of, not then as
honoured with the name Colonia but for the great confiax of Mer-
chants, its extensive commerce, and as a depdt for merchandise.
At a later date London appears to have been Colonia under the
name Augusta (Amm Marcell ; xxvii. 8.) how long it possessed this
honourable appellation we do not know but after the establishment
of the Saxons we find no mention of Augusta. It has received at
various times thirteen different names, but most of them leaving
some similarity to the present one. However as it is not a history
of England's Metropolis but All about Battersea* we write, we will at
once commence at Nine Elms.
* The Manor is thus described in Doomsday-book among the lands belonging to
the Abbot of Westminster:— " St. Peter of Westminster holds Patricesy, Earl
Harold held it ; and it was then assessed at 72 hides : now at 18 hides. The
arable land is— Three carncates are in demsne ; and there are forty-five villians,
and sixteen bordars with fourteen carncates, there are eight bond men : and seven
mills at £42 gs. Sd. and a corn rent of the same amount, and eighty-two acres of
meadow and a wood yielding fifty swine for pannage, There is in Southwark
one bordar belonging to the Manor paying twelve penee. From the roll of
Wendelesorde (Wandsworth) is received the sum of £6. A villian having ten
swine pays to the Lord one ; but if he has a smaller number, nothing. One
knight holds four hides of this land and the money he pays is included in the
preceeding estimate. The entire Manor in the time of King Edward was valued
at ;£8o., afterwards at £30. ; and now at £75 9*. 8d.
King William gave the Manor to St. Peter in exchange for Windsor. The
Earl of Moreton holds one and a half hides of land, which in King Edward's time
and afterwards belonged to this Manor. Gilbert the Priest holds three hides
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▼ii INTRODUCTION.
under the same circumstances. The Bishop of Lisieux had two hides of which
the Church of Westminster was seized in the time of "William and disseised by
the Bishop of Bayeaux. The Abbot of Chertsey holds one hide which the Bailiff
of this J will, out of ill-will (to the Abbot of Westminster) detatched from this
Manor, and appropriated it to Chertsey."
Hide of land in the ancient laws of England was such a quantity of land as
might be ploughed with one plough within the compass of a year, or as much as
would maintain a family ; some call it sixty, some eighty, and others one hundred
acres. Villian, or Villein, in our ancient customs, denotes a man of Servile or
base condition, viz, a bond-man or servant. (Fr. Vilain. L,. Villanus, from
Villa, a farm, a feudal tenant of the lowest class.)
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ALL ABOUT BATTERSEA.
c^iS ^ Kj^ 1 *^
INE ELMS LANE it is said derived its name from nine
Elm Trees which stood in a row facing a small mansion
known as " Manor House" — on the site there has
recently been erected, partly out of some of the old
materials, the offices and premises belonging to Haward
Bros. Forty years ago, Londoners wending their way to Battersea
fields regarded themselves in the country away from the smoke of town
where they could rusticate at pleasure as soon as they entered Nine
Elms Lane on their pe&estrian excursions. Here were hedgerows, and
green lanes, and market gardens, and orchards, meadows, and fields of
waving corn, where reapers might have been seen in harvest-time
reaping and binding sheaves of golden grain. Dikes and ditches
had to be crossed.* In the event of high tide, which was of no un-
common occurrence, the district would be partially inundated with
water, in some places people might ply in small rowing boats as
easily as on the River Thames. On the site where now stands the
wharf of John Bryan and Co., the celebrated Contractors ior
Welsh, Steam, Q-as, and household Coals in general, were situated
the pleasure grounds and tea gardens belonging to Nine Elms
Tavern — the old tavern is still remaining. By the side of the
Coal Wharf is the Causeway where watermen used to ply for hire
in order to ferry people across the river. Steel has given us a
lively description of a boat trip from Richmond on an early summer
morning when he fell in "with a fleet of gardeners .... Nothing
remarkable happened in our voyage, but I landed with ten sail of
Apricot boats at Strand bridge after having put up at Nine
Elms to take in melons." Within the immediate vicinity is Thornes'
Brewery with its clock turret at its summit which at night is
illuminated with gas so that the passers-by looking at the clock might
know the hour. On the spot where Southampton Streets are, stood
in olden time a large mansion surrounded by extensive grounds,
said to have been inhabited by the King's Champion. The
Champion of the King, (campio regis J is an ancient officer, whose
office is, at the coronation of our Kings, when the King is at dinner
* About ten years ago a brick sewer was constructed under the supervision
of the Metropolitan Board of Works where the filthy black ditch which partly
formed a boundary line between Battersea, Clapham, and Lambeth Parishes
was filled up. T. Pearson constructed the sewer, and Mr. Benjamin Butcher
w*s Clerk of the Works,
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to ride armed cap a pie, into Westminster Hall, and by the pro-
clamation of an herald make a challenge " that if any man shall
deny the King's title to the crown, he is there ready to defend it in
single combat, etc., which being done," the King drinks to him, and
sends him a gilt cup with a cover full of wine, which the Champion
drinks, and hath the cup for his fee.
On the north side of Nine Elms Lane, nearly opposite the place
where the " Southampton Arms" Tavern is situated was a windmill.
On the site now occupied by Thornes' Brewery there used to be a
Tan Yard and Pellmonger's Establishment. When the ground was
opened for the purpose of drainage some old tanks were discovered
in which the hides were soaked containing remains of lime and
hair. In the rear of the Brewery there was a Hop Garden where
that bitter plant much used for brewing was cultivated. The only
regular vehicle that passed through Nine Elms Lane was the
carrier's cart — the few inhabitants of the place used to "turn out"
to see it pass — a marked contrast to the present hurried and in-
cessant traffic ! Facing the Eailway Terminus were two Steamboat
Piers for landing and taking up passengers. At race times the
excitement between the rival steamboat companies was intense —
" touters," men hired expressly by each of these companies to induce
passengers to go down their respective piers, became at times so
exasperated with each other that they fell to blows, a sight which
the baser sort of the crowds assembled on suoh occasions enjoyed
to their hearts' content.
Many things have been said by way of disparagement of Batter-
sea and not at all reflecting credit on certain localities within the
parish. Battersea has been called "the Sink Hole of Surrey."
Europa Place, Bridge Eoad, has been designated "Little Hell,"
and the spot were Trinity Hall has been erected at the end of
Stewart's Lane, received the epithet of "Hell Corner." Persons
in the habit of receiving stolen property were said to reside in the
neighbourhood; moreover, there was a gang called "Battersea
Forty Theives !" " Sharpers" are said to have abounded in every
direction, so that strangers going to Battersea would be "cut for
the simples." But we who know something of London life know
that other Metropolitan parishes have their " dens of infamy" and
localities of "Blue Skin," "Jack Sheppard," and "Jonathan
Wild" notoriety, that beneath the shadow of St. Paul's Cathedral
and Westminster Abbey, our Houses of Parliament and Mansions
of the Nobility and Aristocracy, squalor and crime, vice and
grandeur walk side by side, and oftentimes hand in hand.
Adjoining Thornes' premises and Swonnell's Malt houses, is the
London and South Western Eailway Company's Goods Station,
which, before the extension of that Company's line in 1848 to
Waterloo Eoad, was originally the Metropolitan Terminus. Though
this part of the line crosses the most grimy portion of Lambeth, a
distance of two miles and fifty yards, yet it cost the Eailway Com-
pany £800,000. The London and Southampton Eailway (as it was
first called) was opened on the 11th of May, 1840, which, in con-
nexion with the opposite wharf and warehouses on the banks of the
river, at that time occupied an extent of between seven and eight acres.
The entrance front of the (then) Metropolitan Terminus at Nine
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l&mB, erected" from designs by William Tite, Esq., Architect to the
Company, was not unhandsome though at present it has rather a
dingy appearance for want of renovation, and has a central arcade
which originally led to the booking office and waiting rooms now
used for the manager's and clerks' offices for the goods traffic de-
partment. The railroad was commenced under the authority of an
Act of Parliament which received the Royal assent on the 5th of
July, 1834 (it was opened as far as Woking Common on the 21st
of May, 1838). By this Act the Company were empowered to raise
£1,000,000 in £50 shares, and a further sum of £330,000 by loan.
Since that time several additional Acts have been passed authorizing
the Company to extend their line and increase their capital. The
Company's capital for the present year (1879) is £17,000,000. Mr.
Wood was the Company's first Locomotive Superintendent. When
the London and Southampton line was first opened all the workmen
in the Company's service had a half holiday and one shilling each
given to them. The Richmond Railway — this though an offshoot
of the South Western, and worked by that Company, was executed
by a private one. It was however sold to the South Western
Company in October, 1846. It had been opened on the 27th of
July previous. Number of miles open 648. The gross receipts for
the year ending December 31, 1873, were £2,195,170. The rail-
road intersects Battersea parish to the extent of two miles and a
half. The Goods Department comprises the hydraulic shed, down
goods shed, carriers' shed, egg shed, the old warehouse and granery
by the riverside ; down office, Wandsworth Road Gate ; cartage
office, Nine Elms Lane. Officers of the Company. — General
Manager, Archibald Scott, Esq. ; Locomotive Superintendent, W.
Adams, Esq. ; Resident Engineer, William Jacomb, Esq. ; Treasurer,
Alfred Morgan, Esq. ; Goods Manager, J. T. Haddow, Esq., Nine
Elms; Assistant Goods Manager, Mr. W. B. Mills, Waterloo;
Superintendent, R. H. Ming, Esq., Nine Elms ; Assistant Superin-
tendent, Mr. Robert Lingley, Nine Elms ; Law Clerk, M. H. Hall,
Esq. ; Superintendents of the Line, E. W. Yerrinder, Chief Superin-
tendent Waterloo Station ; John Tyler, Western Division, Exeter
Station; William Gardiner, Assistant Superintendent, Waterloo
Station ; W. H. Strutton, Storekeeper, Nine Elms Works.
Soon after the opening of the London and Southampton Railway
a collision between two passenger trains occurred at the Nine Elms
Terminus resulting in the death of a young woman, a domestic
servant, who, with a fellow servant, had been spending the day at
Hampton Court. The Coroner's Jury returned a verdict of ac-
cidental death a deodand of £300 was levied on the *' Eclipse" locomotive
engine, the moving cause of death. The Railway Company paid
the £300 to Earl Spencer as Lord of the Manor, who most generously
divided it amongst the deceased's relatives.
Omnia qua movent ad mortem sunt deodanda :
What moves to death, or kills him dead,
' Is deodand, and forfeited.
On the South Western Railway Stone Wharf are the agents
offices of the several depdts for the sale of Portland stone, Bath
freestone, etc. Huge blocks of stone direct from the quarries are
here deposited and piled block upon block. A single block in some
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instances weighing ten tons elevated and removed \>y means of a
steam traveller moving on a gantry.
When the workmen were engaged in " digging but" the ground
for the foundation of the goods sheds a human fekfeteton was dis-
covered, on which Mr. Carter (coroner) held, aft inquest. Dr.
Statham, who made the post mortem examination, stated that the
skeleton was that of a male person, that there wete three severe
cuts upon the head either of which was sufficient to cause death.
As no further evidence was procurable a verdict was given in
accordance.
About forty years ago, when Mr. Gfobeh was LoconWtive Superin-
tendent, a fire brak© out at the London and Soutti Western Railway
Works, Nine Elms Lane, which caused great destruction of property,
including a very handsome clock tower. Various n*eta4ta were fused
and mingled into shapes fantastic, portions of which wferte sub-
stituted for chimney-piece ornaments in the homes <of the Workmen
and kept as mementoes of this conflagration ! A man of the name
of Dover who it is said accidentally set the stores oh fire ^was so
frightened that it turned the hair of his head grey in one night !
At Nine Elms, Locomotive, Carriage and Stores Departments
are fire precautions which the Railway Company insist upon being
strictly observed. A fire engine with hose and all necessary appli-
ances is kept in a building set apart for it adjoining Heman's
Street Entrance gate. A properly qualified fireman is appointed
to look after the whole of the buildings by night, as a precaution
against fire. The fireman's name is Thomas Lewin, and his
residence is 51, Thorne Street, Wandsworth Road. His hours of
.duty are from 5.30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m. It is the fireman's duty to
perambulate the whole of the works during the night, and to make
a daily report of the circumstances in the book provided for that
purpose. He is responsible that the fire engine, hose, hydrants,
.etc., are kept in working orde» and tried once a week. A statement
of the trial is to be made in the fireman's report book with any
.suggestions or remarks. Positions of Hydrants at Nine Elms
Works — There are 120 hydrants (always charged) distributed as
follows : — 15 in the offices, paint loft and shops beneath; 4 in the
general stores ; 4 in wheelwrights' and signal Bhops ; 2 in bonnet
shop ; 5 in waggon shop ; 4 in new waggon shop and saw ttiill ;
5 in smiths' and carriage fitting shops ; 9 in erecting shops '; 2 in
. turning shop ; 3 in tender shop ; 4 in new erecting shop ; 1 in
permanent way shop ; 4 in arches under the Viaduct ; 52 in running
.shed ; 4 at outlets of water tanks, and 2 on the coal stage. Positions
f of Tell-tale Clocks: — 1 in the office; 1 in general stores; 1 in
wheelwrights' shop ; 1 in paint shop ; 1 in saw mill. It is the
fireman's duty to commence to "peg" each of these clocks fofcr
times every night at the following hours, viz., 8 $Jn., 1&30 p.m.,
1 a.m. and 3.30 a<ra.
Facing the Goods Statical are tlie Company's Wharves with an
extensive river frontage. Here also formerly stood Francis' Cement
Works, adjoining is Nine Elms Steamboat Pie*. The South
Western Rattway Locomotive Works and Goods Dvpart&uent occupy
a vast area. It is computed that about 2, 000 persons are employed in
the various departments. Here were formerly auchard .grounds—
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ma&y a goodly tree bearing fruit and pleasant to the eye has been
felled, '^Woodman spare that tree !" though spoken by feminine
lips would have no force of appeal in this fast age of iron railways
and steam locomotives, when Eailway Companies scruple not by
virtue of Acts of Parliament to pull down by hundreds the dwell-
ings of the poor, it is not to be supposed for an instant that a few
fruit trees however delicious their produce or delightful their
shadow should prove a peculiar obstacle in the way of this March
of Civilization ! On payment of sixpence, children at half-price,
persons might enter these orchards with full liberty to eat as much
fruit as they liked on condition that they brought none away. The
old Spring Well near Nine Elms Lane, Wandsworth Boad, is within
the recollection of many, who by descending some six or eight steps
reached with their hands the iron ladle out of which they often
drank cooling draughts of nature's sparkling laoquatic refreshment.
Ah, everything has a history and its lesson if we did but know.
We all exert unconscious influence either for good or evil, — some
secret action performed; some deed of kindness done ; some public
boon conferred with the benefactor's name concealed shall by-and-by
be proclaimed upon the house-top. A cup of cold water given in
the name of a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth shall not lose its reward.
Some persons wish to be remembered by posterity, even wicked
parents would not like after death to be obliterated from the
memories of their children. The best of all human monuments is a
good character, — Solomon says, ' ' a good name is rather to be chosen
than riches.' '
Our forefathers never dreamed of erecting such drinking fountains*
as we have in these days with troughs for cattle and smaller ones
for mongrel barking curs to slake their thirst ; the pond by the
way, the wooden horse trough outside the road-side Inn, the long-
handled iron pump, in some instances resembling the head and tail
of the British Lion having the body of a greyhound, pleased them
and suited their purpose. The site now environed by the London
Gas Works was formerly a large market ground, here too grew
apple, pear, and cherry trees, gooseberry bushes and ourrants, roses
were cultivated and rendered the air fragrant with their sweet per-
fume. In the ditches and trenches or small channels and streams
occasioned by the tidal overflow from the river, juveniles of both
sexes might have been seen catching with hand and cap sticklebacks
and utilizing a medicine phial or gin bottle for an aquarium. Senior
boys and hobbledehoys with jo vial facial aspect who had not studied
ichthyology or that part of zoology which treats of fishes, attempted
to catch larger fry by adopting the Izaak Walton method of angling
with rod and line, and thought themselves amply rewarded if after
much patient endurance the motion of their floats indicated that
their baits had taken, their eyes would glisten at the sight of a few
roaches and perches. Youngsters would amuse themselves by
watching the newts and tadpoles, the leaping and swimming of that
amphibious reptile of the hatrachian tribe, wondering perhaps,
supposing their biblical knowledge to have extended thus far,
whether those were the kind of creatures that crawled out
* His Grace the Duke of Westminster is the President of the Metropolitan
Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association.
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ot the river Nile and crept into the houses of the Egyptians.
Many a dainty dish of stewed eels have the miller's men had
at Mill-pond Bridge, who not ^infrequently caught alive this
precious kind of anguilla as it lay concealed between the stones
and mud, without the aid of eel-pot or basket. Mill-Pond Bridge
derives its name from the old tidal water flower mill, the only vestige
of the mill remaining is the outward carcase, which is in a ruinous
condition ; beneath its cover are the lock gates, the entrance of the
creek where thousands of tons of coal are conveyed in barges to the
London Gas Works.
NEW ROAD, as it is designated, leading from Battersea fields
to the Wandsworth Road was a lane with a mud bank on both
sides. In a line with the centre of the South Western Railway
" Running Shed " was formerly Mill-Pond which answered the pur-
pose of a large reservoir of water raised for driving the mill wheel.
Water mills used for grinding corn are said to have been invented
by Belisarius, the General of Justinian while beseiged in Rome by
the Goths, 555. The ancients parched their corn and ground it
in mortars. Afterwards mills were invented which were turned by
men and beasts with great labour, yet Pliny mentioned wheels
turned by water. See Teh-dynamic Transmitter.
The simplest mill for bruising grain was nothing more than two
stones between which it was broken. Such was often seen in the
country of the Niger by Richard and John Lander on their ex-
pedition to Africa. The manna which God gave to the children of
Israel in the desert "the people went about and gathered it, and
ground it in mills or beat it in a mortar," Numbers xi. 8.
From mills and mortars thus rudely constructed there must have
been obtained at first only a kind of peeled grain which Dr. Eadie
says may be compared to the German graupe, the English groats,
and the American grits or homing. Fine flour was laboriously
obtained from household mills like our coffee mills. The oldest
mention of flour is in Gen. xviii. 6 ; but bread which is made of
flour or meal is named in Gen. iii. 19. In order to reduce the flour
to a proper degree of fineness it was necessary sometimes to have
it ground over again and cleared by a sieve.
Samson when a prisoner to the Philistines was condemned to the
mill-stone to grind with his hand in the prison-house, Judges xvi.
21. In England prisoners are sent to the treadmill as a punishment.
The Talmudists have a story that the Chaldeans made the young
men of the captivity carry mill-stones with them to Babylon where
there seems to have been a scarcity at that time. They have also
a proverbial expression of a man with a mill-stone about his neck
which they use to express a man under the severest weight of
affliction.
Windmills are of great antiquity and stated to be of Roman or
Saracen invention, they are said to have been originally introduced
into Europe by the Knights of St. John, who took the hint from
what they had seen in the crusades (Baker). Windmills were first
known in Spain, France and Germany in 1299 (Anderson). Wind
saw-mills were invented by a Dutchman in 1633, when one was
erected near the Strand in London.
Acorns was the course fare of the old inhabitants of Britain,
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when wild Britons painted their skin to make themselves appear
more fierce, and native tribes in a still more barbarous condition,
half naked or clad in the skins of beasts, not cultivators of the soil,
subsisted on the flesh of their cattle or on the precarious produce
of the chase. Packs of hungry, growling, cruel *wolves prowled
in the woods and forests, and Druidical Priests exercised an entire
control over the unlettered people they governed, and human
c aptives seized on Britannia's shores were offered as victims in
sacrifice, a holocaust to the divinities and false gods which ancient
Britons worshipped !
The Accipenser, in ichthyology, a genus of fishes belonging to
the Amphibia Nantes of LinnoBus. The Accipenser has a single
linear nostril; the cirri are below the snout, and before the mouth.
There are three species of this genus. Theruthenushas four cirri, and
fifteen squamous protuberances ; it is a native of Eussia. Thehuso has
four cirri ; the body is naked, i.e., has no prickles or protuberances.
The ichthyocollo, or uinglats of the shops, famous as an agglutinant,
and used alafo for the fining of wines, is made from its sound or
scales. The Sturio, or Sturgeon with four cirri and eleven squamous
protuberances on the back. This fish annually ascends our rivers
(it has occasionally been seen in years gone by as high up the river
Thames as Wandsworth) but in no great numbers, and is taken by
accident in the salmon nets. It seems a spiritless fish making no
manner of resistance when entangled, but is drawn out of the water
like a lifeless lump. This cartilaginous fish is highly prized for
food, not unlike in taste to veal. About thirty-six years ago a
Eoyal Sturgeon was caught in the wheel of the mill at Mill-Pond
Bridge then in the occupation of Mr. Hutton the Miller (who was
noted as a breeder of game fowls), now the property of the London
Gas-Light Company. It appears that a local tradesman named
Henry Appleton was going to town and saw a great crowd, some
with guns shooting at a great fish, but the Sturgeon's natural
armour resisted the iorce of their small shot such as they were
then using. Mr. Appleton upon seeing the state of affairs hastened
to procure a bullet or two as a more effectual means of capturing
the prize and the first shot or bullet fired was fatal to the poor
sturgeon which was then landed and conveyed into the garden of
Mr. Hutton' s private house upon the exact spot of which at the
♦Wolves were very numerous in England, King Edgar unsuccessfully
attempted to effect their total destruction by commuting the punishment of certain
crimes into the acceptance of a certain number of wolves' tongues from each
criminal ; their heads were demanded by him as a tribute particularly 300 annually
from Wales, a.d. 961.
In 1289 Edward I. issued his Royal Mandate to Peter Corbet for the ex-
termination of wolves in the several counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford,
Salop, and Stafford ; and in the adjacent county of Derby.
Cambden at page 900 informs us certain persons at Wormhill held their lands
by the duty of hunting and taking the wolves that infested the country, whence
they were styled Wolf Hunt.
In Saxon times and during Athelstan's reign wolves abounded so in Yorkshire
that a retreat was built at Flixton in that county " to defend passengers from the
wolves that they should not be devoured by them." On account of the desperate
ravages these animals made during winter the Saxons distinguished January by
the name of the Wolf month. An outlaw was called a wolf's head as being out
of the protection of law and liable to be killed as that destructive beast.
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present time stands the house (since erected) on the hanks of the
Creek in the occupation of Mr. Methven. It then became after the
usual ceremony of asking the Lord Mayor, the property of Mr.
Appleton, and was exhibited by him in York Street (now Savona
Street), on premises now in the occupation of Mr. Dulley, Butcher.
After being exhibited several weeks great crowds coming from all
parts of London to see it, the Sturgeon was sold to a Fishmonger
residing in Bond Street, who publicly exhibited it in his shop for
some years with a description stating particulars, where it was
captured and by whom and its length, being upwards of 9-ffc. It
is said to have been equal in weight to a sack of flour viz., 280 lbs.
The Sturgeon is more abundant in Hie Northern Coasts of Europe.
It is also found in the more Southern parts. It was esteemed by
the ancients as a very great luxury and it was held in high repute
for the table by the Greeks and Romans and at their banquets it
was introduced with particular ceremonies.
In England when caught in the Thames within the jurisdiction
of the Lord Mayor of London it is a Royal Fish reserved for the
Sovereign. The flesh is white, delicate, firm and nutritious. It is
used both fresh, generally stewed . The largest species of Sturgeon
is the Bielaga, or Huso. Huso {A Huso) of the Black and Caspian
seas and their rivers. It attains the length of 20 or 25 feet and
has been known to weigh nearly 3000 lbs.
Near the site where now stands the Park Tavern at the corner of
the New Road, opposite Mr. Featherstonhaugh's Brewery and not
far from " The Plough & Harrow," were the flower gardens and
beautiful residence of John Patient, Esq., afterwards occupied by
Mr. Came the Barge Builder. The house where ilr. Bennett, Lath-
render, resides, and the house adjoining were used as a Private
Asylum for the insane and was called " Sleaford House."
The picturesque and retired Country Parsonage, the residence of
the Rev. J. G. Weddell, stood a considerable distance from the
main road — " The Prince Alfred" tavern situate in Haine Street
occupies the site. In this locality was a tenter-ground the entrance
to which from the road was through a white gate.
A gateway at the commencement of " Hugman's Lane" which
had " no thoroughfare" led to the works belonging to Peter Pariss
and Son, Oil of Vitriol Manufacturers and Manufacturing Chemists.
Mr. Wallace, who subsequently held these premises had them
considerably enlarged to facilitate his project in working up gas
liquor for making Sulphate of Ammonia, which is extensively used
for agricultural purposes The sewers in the neighbourhood be-
came impregnated with a deleterious gas and the stench from the
drains was intolerable. After considerable litigation with the
Board of Works Mr. Wallace became a bankrupt.
By order of the Mortgagees on Wednesday and Thursday, March
3rd and 4th, 1880, Mr. Douglas Young sold by auction the plant
and machinery of the above extensive works, including 5 large
Cornish steam boilers, tubular boiler, 3 egg boilers, a bottle boiler,
a 4000 gallon wrought iron tank, 12 smaller ditto, 4 large circular
tanks, 5 steam barrel of various sizes, flange pipes, 3 large iron
coils, about 70 tons old metal, several copper and iron boilers of
various sizes, furnace fittings, weighing bridge by Hodgson and
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11
Stead, self -feeding boiler and engine, about 150,000 sound bricks,
a large qualrtity of sound timber including balk timber, yellow
deals, planks, battens, die-square, floor and lining boards, and 50
tons of breeze, several stacks of firewood, pantiles, drain pipes and
other plant materials.
SLEAFORD STREET appears to have obtained an amount of
respectability that it had not of yore. Once upon a time one side
was nicknamed " Ginbottle Row," and the opposite side was
called " Soapsuds Bay!" Mill-Pond Bridge was very narrow,
about half its present width, with a low parapet on both sides.
If the following statement could be relied on, it would perhaps
allay the fears created by certain alarmists respecting the physical
limits to deep coal mining and duration of the coal supply. " There
are coal deposits in various parts of Great Britain at all depths
down to 10,000 or 12,000 feet. Mining is possible to a depth of
4,000 feet, btri beyond this the high temperature is likely to prove
a barrier. The temperature of a coal mine at a depth of 4,000
feet will probably be found as high as 120 Fahr. ; but there is
reason to believe that by the agency of an efficient system of
ventilation the temperature may be reduced, at least during the
cooler months of the year, as to allow mining operations without
unusual danger to health. Adopting a depth of 4,000 feet as the
limit to deep mining there is still a quantity of coal in store in
Great Britain sufficient to afford the annual supply of twenty-two
millions of tons for a thousand years." — SulL*
" Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and
wise," was a motto adopted by our forefathers when the inducements
to promenade London streets by night were not so inviting as now.
" Ranelagh and Vauxhall were places of frivolous amusement
resorted to even by the higher classes. From those and other haunts
of folly, lumbering coaches or sedan chairs conveyed home the
ladies through the dimly lighted or pitch dark streets, and the
gentlemen picked their way over the ruggedly-paved thoroughfares,
glad of the proffered aid of the link boys who crowded round the
gates of such places of public entertainment or resort as were open
at night, and who, arrived at the door to which they had escorted
some fashionable foot-passenger, quenched the blazing torch in the
trumpet-looking ornament which one now and then still sees lingering
*Moie than a quarter of a century ago, Professor Buckland when examined
before the House of Commons, limits the supply to 400 years. Mr. Bailey in his
Survey of Durham limits the supply to 200 years only. But some proprietors
when examined in 1830 extended the period of total exhaustion of the mines to
1, 727 years ; they assumed that there are 837 square miles of coal strata in this
field and that only 105 miles had been worked out.
"There were 2936 collieries in Britain in i860; from these were raised
83*923,273 tons of coal. The greatly increasing consumption of coal has
originated fears as to the possibility of the exhaustion of our mineral fuel. It
appears that, while in 1820, only 15,000,000 tons were raised, in 1840, the amount
had reached 30,000,000, and in i860, it was nearly 84,000,000. At the same rate
of increase the known coal, within a workable distance from the surface, would
last at least 100 years. But the consumption, during the last twenty years of the
century, would at the present increasing ratio amount to 1464 million tons a
year, a quantity vastly greater than can be used. We need not, therefore, now
begin to fear lest our coal-fields should be speedily used up."— Chambers's £n»
cyclopedia*
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over the entrance to some house in an antiquated square or court,
a characteristic relic of London in the olden time."
Street lighting was not known to the Greeks and Bomans, it was
therefore necessary for them whenever they went abroad after dark
to carry flambeaux. Street lighting was first introduced at Paris
about the beginning of the 16th century. An Edict was issued
ordering the inhabitants to keep lights burning in their windows
after nine at night. In 1558, lamps were exchanged for lanterns,
and in 1671 these lanterns were ordered to be lighted from the 20th
of October to the beginning of April. This however did not prove
a satisfactory arrangement. At length a premium was offered by
the Government for a dissertation on the best mode of lighting the
streets. The successful competitors were a journeyman glazier,
M. M. Bailly, Le Eoy and Bourgeois Le Cheteaublanc. To the
glazier was awarded a prize of 200 livres, and to the other three
jointly 2,000 livres. The result of their suggestions was a general
lighting of the streets by oil lamps set upon posts.
In London, lanterns were first used in 1688, and those inhabitants
whose houses fronted the streets were ordered to hang out their
lanterns and keep them burning from 6 to 1 1 o'clock at night ; the
number of lanterns thus used within the boundaries of the City of
London was 5,000. "Without the City, inclusive of the suburbs, the
probability is that the number was 15,000.
In 1874, another act was passed for regulating the lighting of
the City still further. Since the lighting of the streets, alleys,
courts, etc., of our Metropolis with gas have come many other
sanitary and social improvements, and it is not unlikely that under
a wise Providence we owe to this invention as much security from
the nightly depredations of burglars as much so as from the
vigilance of the police.
The existence and inflammability of coal-gas has been known in
England for two centuries. In the year 1659, Thomas Shirley cor-
rectly attributed the exhalations from the " burning well " at Wigan,
in Lancashire, to the coal-beds which lie under that part of the
country ; and soon after, Dr. Clayton, influenced by Shirley, actually
made coal-gas, and detailed the results of his labours in a letter to
the Hon. Robert Boyle, who died in 1691. About a century later,
1753, Sir James Lowther communicated to the Royal Society a
notice of a spontaneous evolution of gas at a colliery belonging to
him at Whitehaven. Bishop Watson made many experiments on
coal-gas, which he details in his Chemical Essays. Mr. E. Taylor,
on the Coal-fields of China, says, " The Chinese artificially produce
illuminating gas from bitumen coal we are certain. But it is a
fact that spontaneous jets of gas derived from boring into coal-beds
have for. centuries been burning, and turned to that and other
economical purposes. If the Chinese are not gas manufacturers,
they are nevertheless gas consumers and employers on a large scale,
and have evidently been so ages before the knowledge of its
application was acquired by Europeans." In 1792, Mr. Murdoch,
an engineer at Redruth in Cornwall, erected a little gasometer with
apparatus which produced gas sufficient to supply his own house
and offices, and in 1797, he erected a similar apparatus in Ayrshire.
In the following year, he was engaged to put up a gas works at the
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Maniifactory of Bolton and "Watts, at Soho, Birmingham, — thiswat
the first application of gas in a large way. Except among a few
scientific men, the manufacture of gas excited but little curiosity
until the year 1802, when the front of the great Soho Manufactory
was brilliantly illuminated with gas on the occasion of the public
rejoicings at the Peace. In 1801, M. Le Bon, at Paris, succeeded
in lighting up his own house and gardens with gas from wood and
coal, and had it in contemplation to light up the City of Paris.
Only within the present century has gas superseded in London
the dim oil lamps. About forty years ago, oil lamps and lighted
candles were used in our churches and chapels ; in some places of
worship evening services were dispensed with altogether. A
humorous anecdote is related of Dr. Johnson : it is said, one evening,
from the window of his house in Bolt Court, he observed the parish
lamplighter ascend a ladder to light one of the small oil lamps.
He had scarcely descended the ladder half-way when the flame
expired. Quickly returning he lifted the cover of the lamp partially
and thrusting the end of his torch beneath it, the flame instantly
communicated to the wick by the thick vapour which issued from
it. "Ah!" exclaimed the Doctor, "one of these days the streets
of London will be lighted by smoke." — Notes and Queries, No. 127.
Certain scientific men were incredulous as to the practicability of
lighting up the whole of London with gas, and Sir Humphrey
Davey asked if it were intended to take the dome of St. Paul's for
a gasometer! In 1820 gas meters were patented by John Malan,
in 1830 by Samuel Olegg, in 1838 by Nathan Defries and others.
Mr. Daniel Pollock, father of the late Chief Baron, was governor
of the first " chartered" gas company in 1812. In 1822 St. James'
Park was first lighted with gas. In 1825, its safety had not then
been established on the part of the Government, a committee of the
most eminent scientific men immediately inspected the Gas Works,
and reported that the occasional superintendence of all the Works
was necessary. However, since then so rapidly has the invention
of gas-lighting progressed, that now in the present year of grace,
there is neither City nor town in Great Britain of any note but
what is illuminated with gas and has works for its manufacture in
close proximity to the houses of its inhabitants. Gas supply of
London, receipts for the year 1872, £2,133,600, for 1873,
£2,544,000. What is coke? Coke is the residual carbon of pit
coal after the volatile matters have been expelled by heat, it has a
porous texture and a lustre sometimes approaching the metalic. It
is a valuable fuel, producing an intense and steady heat and leaving
but little residue after combustion. The residual coke in retorts has
a quantity of ash, which, besides its earthy base of silicate, usually
contains sulphur and other deleterious matter. The breeze can be
used in furnaces and in burning bricks. There is a considerable
quantity of pure hydrogen produced by the decomposition of water
in cooling coke. Attempts have been made to manufacture gas
from other substances besides coal— oil, resin, peat, and even water
having in their turn commanded capital for a fair trial of their
merits of all these ; however, coal has alone stood the test of com-
mercial success, those companies formed for other schemes having
either been dissolved or become converts to its superior advantages.
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No doubt it will "be considered tttopian — Mr. Bobinson thinks that
the electric light might be so modified as to be used in public
dwellings ! There are exhaustless. stores of latent electricity, but
the difficulty is to know how to deveiope and utilize it,
Street gas lit by electricity, by Atr. St. George Lane* Fox/s
method: trial partially sucqessfuj, Fall Mall, etc., 1,3th April, 1878,
British Museum Reading JjoQin. illuminated by electric light,
October, 1879.
Common bituminous coal obfatnedfrom the mines of Northumber-
land, Durham, York, South Wales, and a few other coal districts
is the kind from. wkicli mps( of the gas of this country is manu-
factured. The Cannel or. Sctotei, parrot coals produce a gas of a
much richer quality, whiqh* though expensive, has the advantage
of superior illuminating power* Gaja oompanies use to a very
great extent coals from the following mines : — Pelaw, Leverson's
Wallsend, Pelton, New Pelton, bean's Primrose, Q-aresfielcL South
Peareth, (The London G-as-Light, Comg^ny use principally Poareth)
Urpeth, Washington, Yorkshire, Siltoitone, Haswell, West Wear,
Wearmouth, Brancepeth, South Branoepeth, and Eavenehaw Pelaw.
The resulting products of carbonization of these coals when an
exhauster is employed will be found to give about the following
average per ton : —
Gas, 9,500 cubic feet; Coke, 13 cwt., or one chaldron; Tar, 10
gallons; Ammoniacal Liquor, 13 gallons. Ammonia, a compound
of Nitrogen and Hydrogen, is converted into Sulphate of Ammonia,
Sal Ammonia, Carbonate of A^nmonia, etc., etc. Tarj which is a
Hydro-carbon, after producing Naptha and Ught oils, becomes use-
ful as Asphalt, or for exterior paint work. Benzole, the base of our
newly-discovered dyes, is extracted from the Naptha; which, besides,
is either used as a solvent for india-rubber and guttapercha, or
yields a brilliant light when burned in a common lamp. Gas, as it
issues from the retorts, is chiefly composed of light carburetted and
bicarburetted hydrogen or olefiant gas, accompanied by condensable
vapours and other gaseous impurities. The condensable vapours
are principally hydro-carbon compounds which become deposited in
the form of oil, and amongst a variety of deleterious substances
may be mentioned as the chief: ammonia, carbonic acid, carbonic
oxide, and sulphuretted hydrogen, but the valu/e of coal-gas
principally depends on the presence of bicarburetted. hydrogen, and
the greater proportion of this the higjier will be ita light-giving
properties.
The connection of the London Gas-LJght Company's Works with
Vauxhall takes us out of the parish of Battersea for a moment into
the parish of Lambeth. Vauxhall, the early Spring Garden, was
named from its site in the Manor of La Saja Eawkes, Fawkeshali,
from its possessor, an obscure Norman adventurer, in the reign of
King John.* The estate was laidowA as. & garden about 1661, in
squares enclosed with hedgos,qf gposcbarries, within which were
♦The true derivation is supposed' to be from Falk or Faulk de Brent, a famous
Norman soldier of fottune to wflom King John gave in marriage Margaret de
Ripariis or Redvers. To the lady belonged tbttt Manor of Lambeth to which
the Mansion called Faulks HfcU Wft&< aansaedi— tZo**^*, by Charles Knight,
Vol. I., p. 403.
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*oses, Tbeans and asparagus. Sir Samuel Morland took a lease of
the place in 1665, and added fountains and a sumptuously furnished
room for the reception of Charles II. and his court, and a plan
dated 1681, shows the gardens planted with trees and laid out in
walks and a circle of trees or shrubs. They were frequented by
Evelyn and Pepys ; and Addison in the Spectator, 1712, takes Sir
Roger de Ooverley there. In 1728, the gardens were leased to
Jonathan Tyers, who converted the house into a tavefcn. The beauty
of its rural scenery rendered it so much frequented that the pro-
prietor in the year 1730, introduced vocal music, the price of ad-
mission at that time was Is., but from the competition of others
who opened public places of amusement in the neighbourhood, the
proprietor introduced a great variety of amusements and raised the
price of admission to 2s. During the season of 1807, the price was
constantly 2s., the gardens- being open only three nights in the
week, and each of these nigfeta was what was termed a gala night.
Yauxhall Gardens were extensive, they contained a variety of walks
illuminated with beautiful transparent paintings. Opposite the
west door was a magnificent Gothic orohestra, illuminated with a
profusion of lamps of various colours ; and on the left was an elegant
rotunda, in which the band performed in the cold or rainy weather.
At ten o'clock a bell announced the opening of a cascade, with the
representation of a water*mill, a mail coach, etc. Fireworks of the
most brilliant description were also introduced among the attractions
of the place. In numerous recesses, or pavilions, parties were
accommodated with suppers and other refreshments and were charged
according to a bill of fare. The ham sandwiches were of such an
excellent quality and so thinly sliced that they became proverbial.
The respective boxes and apartments were adorned with a vast
number of paintings, many of which were executed in the best style
of their respective theatres. The labours of Hogarth and Hayman
were the most conspicuous. On a pedestal, under the arch of a
grand portico of the Doric order, was»afine marble statue of Handel,
in the character of Orpheus playing on his lyre, done by the
celebrated M. JJobiliac. The number of persons whawere employed
in the gardens during the season is said to. have amounted to 400,
96 of whom were musicians and singers, the rest were waiters and
servants of various kinds. The celebrated Lowe and Beard were
amongst the first singers who were engaged at Vauxhall. Upwards
of 15,000 lamps were said to illuminate the gardens at one time, —
the effect of the illumination was peculiarly beautiful in a moon*
light night. The band of the Duke of York's regiment of Guards
dressed in full uniform added to the attractions of these enchanting
gardens ; by military harmony, as a place of public entertainment,
it became the most famous in Europe. The greatest season was in
1823, when 133,279 persons visited the gardens and the receipts
were £29,590. The greatest number of persons in one night wa&
on the 2nd of August, 1833, when 20,137 paid for admission. The
carriages outside the gardens were so numerous that they extended
in lines as far as Westminster Bridge in one direction and to
Kennington Common in an opposite direction. The greatest number
on the then supposed last night, 5th September, 1839, was! 1089.
persons. So f acinating did this place of amusement become that
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it acquired the name of the " fairy land of fancy/' answering in
conception to those enchanted palaces and gardens described in the
"AraMan Nights Entertainment.* It was in these gardens gas
was manufactured by the London Gas-light Company prior to gas
being made at the Company's Works in the neighbourhood of
Vauxhall Row.
The London Gas-light Company was Incorporated in the year
1833.f The Works at Vauxhall were constructed from designs
furnished by Mr. Hutchison, the Engineer. The first bed of retorts
set on the Company's premises was heated by a man of the name
of William Batt, June, 1834. The old man is still living, he is
seventy-five years of age, and has been in the London Gas-light
Company's service forty-three years. At that time the Company
used a small gasometer erected in Vauxhall gardens. It was with
gas from this vessel that Mr. Green, the celebrated seronaut used to
fill or inflate his great balloon. The first place lighted up with the
Company's gas was Old Lambeth Market, the site now occupied by
Hie Lambeth Baths, In December, 1858, the London Gas-light
Company manufactured gas at their New Works, Nine Elms. The
following month, January, 1859, an Act of Parliament came into
operation to prevent gas companies from erecting other works for
the manufacture of gas within ten miles of London ; however, it
was not until the year 1863 that the London Gas-light Company
permanently removed from Vauxhall to Nine Elms.
The London Gas Works are environed with a briok wall, varying
in height from ten to twenty feet, bounded on the North by Nine Elms
Lane ; on the South by the South- Western Eailway ; on the East
by Everett Street ; and on the West by Moat Street and Haine
Street. The works within this enclosure cover an area of seventeen
acres, and at the field Prince of Wales Boad, about three acres
more. There are five gates to the Works, but the principal entrance
is in Haward Street, by the porter's lodge. At the right-hand-
corner is a spacious building, on the basement is the Engineer's
office, the Light office, and Messenger's lobby, which has in it a
small telegraphic apparatus for communicating intelligence between
this and the Chief office. The Grand Entrance is from Nine Elms
Lane, opened by two pairs of massive folding doors leading into the
hall, facing which is a flight of stone steps with ornamental cast-
iron balusters mounted by rails on either side of polished mahogany,
communicating with a similar staircase right and left which conducts
to the Board room and Draughtsmen's offices. The Board room is
a beautiful and commodious apartment, 33 feet by 1 9. It has never
•Vauxhall Gardens were open from 1732 to 1840, they were re-opened in 184 1
and finally closed in 1859, when the theatre, orchestra, firework gallery, fountains,
statues, etc., were sold, with a few mechanical models, such as Sir Samuel
Morland, Master of Mechanics to Charles II. had set up here nearly two centuries
previously. The site was then cleared and a church, (St. Peter's) vaulted through-
out, was built upon a portion of the grounds, besides a school of arts, etc. — John
Timbs.
f The London Gas-light Company Established, (Incorporated) 1833; first
Works built in High Street, Vauxhall, the lease of which expired in 1865. *
December 2, 1872, there was a great strike of the London Gas Stokers, 2,400
out. The inconvenience was met by great exertion, 2-6 Dec. Several were tried
and imprisoned.
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yet "been occupied by the Board of Directors, the Board preferring
to transact their business at their Chief Office, 26, Southampton
Street, Strand, W.O. Secretary, A. J. Dove, Esq. ; Engineer,
Robert Morton, Esq. ; Manager, John Methven, Esq. ; Outdoor
Superintendent, T. D. Tully, Esq. ; Cashier, W. G. Head, Esq.,
with a staff of Inspectors, Collectors, Clerks, &c.
On the 31st of October, 1865,* a terrible gas explosion took place,
when ten men were killed and many others injured. At that
time the houses in Haward Street being contiguous to the works,
had the window frames shattered, and similar calamities occurred
elsewhere. These houses were occupied by some of the Company's
employ es. Lately, partly on account of the recent tidal inundations,
sixteen houses belonging to the Company have been pulled down
and a wall built so as to keep out the flood, in the event of extra-
ordinary high tides. The open space between the inner and
outer gates is used, as well as other open spaces about the works,
for heaping up the coke mountains high, which certain youngsters
in the neighbourhood would only be too delighted to have the
privilege of scrambling and of bearing some of the precious fuel
home to their fireless grates. Alas! much of the distress prevalent
in the district is caused through the drunkenness and improvident
habits of parents.
Passing through the inner gate, over which is mounted the factory
bell of 2 cwt., — its size and tone would not disgrace the belfry of
many a church steeple, — on the right is situated the timekeeper's
office, the carbonizing foreman's lobby, the meter stores, and the
stores. On the left-hand-side of the gate is the coke clerk's office,
counting house, and a range of workshops, sheds, etc. for smiths,
painters, fitters, and carpenters. Adjoining the coke office is the
shop where all the Company's meters are tested before being sent
out to the consumers. In different parts of the yard lines of iron
rails are laid down, with turning tables to allow for shunting,
communicating with the South- Western Railway, so as to admit
trucks, which, when loaded with coke from the factory, are then
conveyed to their destination. The retort houses are oblong build-
ings with gable wrought-iron roofs, are strongly built of brick, the
walls being of immense thickness ; this is necessary, not only on
account of the great heat within, but on account of the large
* On October 31, 1865, at the London Gas-light Company's Works, at Nine
Elms, Battersea Park Road, a gas-holder exploded killing ten persons and injuring
twenty-two. This was then one of the largest holders in London, its capacity
being 1,039,000 cubic feet. It was 150 feet diameter, 60 feet high, with a tank
depth of 30 feet, and at the instant of the explosion was nearly full, being about
50 feet to 55 feet high. The meter-house was blown to atoms, and the force of
the explosion struck the side of the gas-holder, bulging it in, and at the same
time driving out a portion of the top. Mr. Timbs, who records this disaster,
(which happened when the late Mr. Watson was engineer) says, "As the side
plates were eight to twelve guage, the force must have been very great. With
the bursting of the top there was an immediate rush of gas, which instantly
caught foe, and shot up in a vast column of flame, discernible at a great distance.
The concussion ripped open another gas-holder, the escaping gas caught fire, and
meeting the flames from the first gas-holder, rolled away in one vast expanse of
flame : an awful crash followed, and many of the neighbouring houses were
shattered to pieces."— History if Wonderful Inventions, by John Timbs,
p. 179.
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quantity of coals stowed away in the coal stores, the stock on hand
befog 15/000 tois. r j
There are sctfen retdrt hotises, five of these occupy a central
position in these works ; they have been erected at different periods
as tho demand for the manufacture of gas increased. Of these
retort houses No. -7 is the largest ; it is 260 feet long by 80 feet
wide (inside measurement), and it is 45 feet to crown of roof. Each
retort house has independent shafts, but the tallest shaft faces the
east end of reto*t house No. 2. It is a splendid piece of brick-work,
the height of which is 135 feet. When the top stone was laid Mr.
B. Gray, the builder, treated the men who were under him with
a dinner. On this occasion sixteen persons sat on the summit and
partook of this sumptuous repast. Nos. 1, 2 and S are ground
retort houses, the other four houses are stage retort houses. With
respect to the interior of these retort houses, there is plenty of
room in front of the retorts for a storage of coal and good space for
drawing the retorts. On the whole there is good ventilation in the
roofs for allowing the smoke, etc. to escape. The floor of the stage
retort houses are paved with grooved cast-iron plates. In these
retort houses an open space is allowed between the furnace and the
flooring in order that the coke when raked out of the retorts might
fall into the coke hole below. The benches of retorts are placed in
the middle of the houses. The retorts are built in settings, they
are cylindrical tubes made of Stourbridge clay open through and
through with mouthpieces at both ends. At the front of each bed
of retorts is a furnace for heating up the retorts with the residual
coke after the coals have been carbonized. The flame and hot
draft ef the furnaces axe made to circulate thoroughly throughout
the setting, traversing as great a space as possible round, under and
above the retorts before egress is allowed to the main flue com-
municating with the chimney. The retorts are charged every six
hours. Formerly, for cooling the retort lids, a pulpy mass of lime
and mud of the consistence of mortar was used under the cognomen
of " blue billy." This has been superceded by Morton's Patent
Air-tight lid, and Holman's Patent Lever. The two mechanical
contrivances combined for this purpose are most efficient, and when
financially considered must be a great saving to the Company. In
the new house there are seven retorts in a bed ; these, when heated
sufficiently, are simultaneously charged at each end with two scoop-
fuls of bituminous coal ; the upper retorts, on account of their
retaining more heat, are charged with three scoops — each scoop
contains 1 cwt. 2 qrs. of coal As soon as the lids are closed with
the patent lever and cross-bar the process of gas distillation com-
mences. In house No. 7 there are 392 mouths — total number of
mouths in all the retort houses 1,793. As clay retorts when heated
at first have a tendency to crack, it is necessary that the process of
heating should be slow, also to get them up to their proper heat a
similar caution is requisite when cooling. Apart from the manu-
facture of gas, in order to attend to the furnaces with the view of
keeping up the heat of retorts, a certain amount of Sunday labour
is involved, but it is gratifying to state that at these works labour
on the Lord's day is reduced to its lowest minimum. Among several
annoyances in the manufacture of gas is the choking or stoppage
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of aseenejon pipes ; the person whose employment it is to look after,
and if possible prevent this, is called by his fellow-workmen " the
pipe jumper." Pipes connected with the mouthpieces called the
ascension pipes conduct the gas to the hydraulic main, this is. a
large pipe at the back of the ascension pipes partly filled with water,
when the works are started into which the ends of the pipes from
the retorts are made to dip, and by this means forms a seal by
which the gas is prevented from finding its way back either by those
retorts which the workmen may be re-charging or to other parts of
the bench that for the time may be out of action. The hydraulic
main and its supports are very strong in order to stand the alternate
and unequal heating and cooling of the benches, and the enormous
strain occasioned by the large extent of pipage. Wrought iron is
used in preference to cast-iron because of its lightness, strength
and elasticity.
There are four lobbies for the accommodation of the stokers and
seats at either end of the retort houses. The men in the carbonizing
department are supplied with lockers in which to keep their
provisions and cl othes. Each man has a half-pint of the best Scotch
oaimeal per diem allowed him to make " skilly" with. A quantity
of oatmeal is put into a bucket, water is poured on and then stirred,
after the meal has " settled" they dip it out with a mug to drink as
often as they feel themselves thirsty. The engineer has no objection
to the men having lemonade, etc., but all intoxicating drinks on the
works are strictly prohibited. On Sundays, between 9 and 10 a.m.,
a religious service is conducted in the lobby at No. 6 retort house
by the Missionary.
Scene in a retort house on week-day. — The stokers, after having been
at work in the retort houses for half an hour, are " off " for nearly
an hour, during which they employ their time in various ways ;
some play at cards, some at draughts, some at dominoes, others
read the newspapers, — eight men in a group will club together and
subscribe a penny each, this enables them to purchase six dailies
and two weeklies, thus a group is furnished with newspaper
intelligence for a week. Others of the stokers will seek to bring
grist to their mill by employing the time they are off to their own
pecuniary advantage either in mending their own boots and shoes
or the boots and shoes of their fellow-workmen. At times some of
the men may be seen mending their clothes, or washing a pair of
trowsers in a bucket of water and using the wooden handle of a
shovel as a substitute for a " dolly." Now and then a man will lie
on his back at full length on a heap of coals, locked in the arms of
Morpheus, presently he awakes out of his dreams, rubs his eyes
astonished at what has transpired during the past hour. The fore-
man's whistle, similar to that used by a railway guard when a train
is ready to start, is the signal for the men to resume their work,
and to their crc dit be it said, they go at it manly and rush to their
shovels and scoops like British sailors fly to their guns when com-
manded to salute a Prince or fire at an enemy ! A stranger for the
first time is startled when the lids or " lips" as they are called are
removed from the mouths of the retorts by the bomb ! bombing!
a kind of percussion or shock occasioned by the gaseous vapours
confined in the retorts being liberated by coming into direct contact
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"with the atmosphere, then commences the "belching forth of flame,
the issuing of smoke, the raking out of carbonized coal blazing'
with tar in order to clear the retorts which are again quickly charged
with that peculiar fossil of vegetable origin found among the
carboniferous 6trata of the earth. It is interesting to mark the
agility with which the stokers perform their duty. Five men con-
stitute a gang, — there are three men to a scoop. Scoops are made
of iron. A scoop is 10 feet long, 7 i inches wide, and 5 J inches
deep with a T pieces for a handle. It is placed on the ground, filled
as soon as possible, then raised by two men who put underneath it
a wrought iron bar called a " horse" so bent or curved in the middle
on which to rest the scoop. These two men, with the aid of the
man who holds the T piece, thrust the coals into the retorts as
quickly as artillerymen ram cannon, and so work at each bed of
retorts stripped to the waist, while the perspiration is oozing from
the pores of their 6kin like melted tallow ! Now and again a
hissing noise with steam accompanied with clouds of vapour caused
by buckets of water thrown on the carbonized coal taken from the
retorts. No sooner is the coke thus cooled than it is (in keeping
with all the movements preceding) wheeled in iron barrows to a
place in the yard, where pyramidically it is piled stage upon stage
until purchased by the coal contractor and coke merchants who
require it for their customers. Respecting the employes at these im-
portant works — beneath the rough exterior of their sooty skin,
incidental to their occupation, these sons of toil who forsooth earn
their livelihood by the sweat of their brow in common with their
brother man, have hearts akin to the finest specimens of humanity,
and stand related to our Father in heaven, for we are all His offspring,
brothers for whom the Saviour died. "Whatever a man's status in
social life, whatever part he may take, however humble in the
divisions of industrial, honest labour, these men know that as
Eobert Burns says ; " A man 's a man for a' that."
From the hydraulic main the gas passes on to a set of condensers
or coolers at the south side of the works, through which it is made to
circulate until it is reduced to atemperaturebearing some approxima-
tion to the surrounding atmosphere, also to separate condensable
vapours before allowing the gas to pass to the purifiers. The tar
well or tank is a receptacle for the overflow of the hydraulic, etc.
A branch pipe from the main is inserted and sealed in a stationary
lute at the bottom. The tar thus deposited as well as the ammoniacal
liquor is valuable. There are five scrubbers, the tops of which are
reached by flights of wooden steps with hand-rails and a stage or
gallery above communicating from one scrubber to another. Each
scrubber is a cylinder 19 feet in diameter and 70 feet high, they
are made of cast-iron plates and contain a series of iron trays or
gratings on which are spread layers of coke, furze, etc. Water is
injected from the top by meaos of a revolving apparatus connected
with vertical and horizontal shafting and driven by a small engine
below, thereby keeping up a constant humid spray, the object being
to separate the ammonia and acids from the gas.
In front of houses Nos. 4 and 5 (which by the way are the oldest
retort houses inside these works) is situated the boiler and engine
house. There are three boilers 28 feet by 6 in diameter. In the
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engine house four of B eal's exhausters occupy prominent positions,
they are used to exhaust or suck the gas from the retorts and after-
wards force it through the vessels lor purification ; two of these
driven by engines of 20 horse power work 150,000 cubic feet per
hour each. Two driven by engines of 12 horse power work 100,000
per hour each. Attached to the inlet of each exhauster is one of
Wright's exhauster governors, it is made on the principle of
pressure or suction elevating or depressing a light cylinder working
in a water-lute of sufficient depth. When an exhaust is maintained
on the water guage, counter balance weights equal to the exhaust
on the area of the cylinder are applied, and the oscillations, as the
suction increases or diminishes, regulate to a nicety the exhaust.
The whole of the machinery in this department is in excellent order
and will bear the minutest inspection. Over the engine house,
which is reached outside by a corkscrew or spiral iron staircase, is
a workshop fitted up with machinery ; it contains a horizontal engine
of eight horse power, which drives two lathes, one bolt screwing
machine, two drilling machines, and a saw bench. Against the
wall of the engine house is one of Tangye's Special Pumps for raising
water from the dock to supply the whole of the works with water
for cooling purposes. Outside the engine house an apparatus
called a jet exhauster has recently been erected composed of a
series of vertical iron tubes, a steam boiler, a generator, and jet.
A vacuum is created by a blast of steam, thereby compelling the
gas to rapidly leave the retorts and at the same time the ammonia
is supposed to be entirely removed by means of water which per-
colates through shavings with which the tubes or pipes are filled.
On the south side of the works, in addition to the coolers, there
are thirteen purifiers and fifteen plots or courts including the
foreman's lobby. Each purifier is of cast-iron, it is oblong in form,
the cover is wrought iron riveted together in sheets, and the seal
is made by means of a water-lute round the edge of the purifier.
The purifying material, which is sometimes lime but principally
oxide of iron, is carefully spread out on trays and these are disposed
in tires or sets in such a manner as to leave a clear open space
between each succeeding layer to allow the gas to diffuse itself
thoroughly throughout the mass. Lime when once fouled cannot
profitably be renewed for gas purifying purposes, but the oxide of
iron can be further utilized by spreading out the oxide in an open
court when the oxygen of the atmosphere precipitates the sulphur
and the oxide is again fit for use.
The gas passes from the purifiers to the station meter house
fronting the stores on the north side of the yard, where the quantity
of gas made is registered ; adjoining which is Mr. Methven's the
Sub-Manager's office, and a test room or laboratory where various
experiments connected with the manufacture of gas are conducted.
Against the north boundary is a small gas house with gas-holder,
etc., all complete, occasionally used for experimenting purposes.
From the station meters the gas passes to the gas-holders ; each of
these enormous circular vessels possesses great storage capacity. It
is made on the principle that the circle of all geonntrical figures is
the one that a fixed circumference or outline is capable of enclosing
the greatest amount of space. A gas-holder is made by riveting
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together light wrought iron sheets upon an angle framing drid in
shape resembles an inverted cup, the crown being either flat or the
segment [of a large sphere. It works in a circular water-tank,
round which columns are erected that sustain guides at proper
intervals by which the gasholder when working is supported, etc.
Erected in different parts of the works, including those (two) in the
field Prince of Wales' Eoad, are five immense gasholders with
double lifts capable of holding in all 7,000,000 cubic feet of gas.
The most imposing view of the Works is front* the gate near the
entrance of the Creek at Mill-Pond Bridge ; in the* creek there are
sometimes as many as forty barges. On entering at this gate the eye
is afcfcraeted by two ponderous lifts, which, by an arrangement of
rope bands attached to shafting with revolving iron drums and
pulleys supported by columns and girders and driven by two
horizontal engines of twelve horse-power, are capable of lifting
500 tons of coals every twelve hours. The coals are raised from
the barges in iron waggons which hold 1 ton 15 cwt. each, there
are two waggons to each lift so that while one waggon is being
filled the other on the stage above is being conveyed on iron rails
to whatever part of the retort house the coals may be required.
Each engine has a powerful brake and is worked with two levers.
On the west side of the creek is the manager's residence, and an
enormous gasholder with capacity to hold 2,000,000 cubic feet of
gas ; further on is a hand crane. In front of No. 7 retort house is
ofie of Winshurst and Hollick's engine cranes, which is capable of
lifting 200 tons of coals in ten hours by means of a chain and
buoket lifted up to the hopper, a distance of nearly sixty feet, and
emptied. The bucket holds 15 cwt. of coal. That portion of the
Company's premises known as Mill-Pond Yard is used for the storage
of pipes, bricks, fire-clay, etc. Here is the carcass of the Old Tidal
Mill with lock gates ; here to is the Workman's Institute and Band
room. Mothers' Meetings are held at the Institute on Wednesdays
at 3 p.m., on Sunday afternoons at 3 o'clock for Bible readings by
a Missionary in the district.*
* Since the above description was written in 187 7 very extensive alterations have
been made in these works. The Company have completed a large purifying house
at the sonth side of the Creek, and have "had constructed on the site of the Old
Institute a dock for the purpose of admitting steam colliers of 1000 tons burden ;
and have erected a coal tramway from the same into the Works, crossing Nine
Elms Lane with an iron bridge 22 feet from the roadway, which has been widened
at least 20 feet. Moreover the carcass of the Old Flour Water-Mill has been
pulled down the only vestiges remaining are the lock gates. Opposite Mr.
Methven's residence a new institute and stables have been built* In the Works
the old offices, workshops, stores, meter-house, and test rooms have been
demolished, the high shaft pulled down and the jet exhauster removed. A new
meter-house has been erected opposite the engine house aui" there "has alio been
added new machinery. The Creek has been narro-ved'afi^the* portion *of -ground
recovered has considerably increased the size of the coke yard* A parapet has
been built on both sides of the Creek to prevent the water fromf overflowing in
the event of extraordinary high tides. Also a new stage retort house is being
erected parallel with retort house No. 6, (Messers Kirk" an I Randall, Con-
tractors). In addition, three blocks of new. buildings have been erected on the
west side of the road within the principal gate, is B (i) containing: coke office,
cashier's office and strong room ; timekeeper's office, -weigh office, cok# foreman's
office, superintendent's office and test room. On the east sjder of the road is B
(2). containing gate-keeper's lobby and stores. At the south-east corner of the
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tJpon the mains at their exit from the works valves are placed*
each valve having a revolving pressure indicator attached, the paper
of which is graduated into inches, and tenths, and marked with
spaces corresponding to the twenty-four hours of the day. In the
meter-house self-regulating governors are used for this purpose.
From the gasholders the gas is driven through cast-iron mains or
pipes, and from them by wrought iron service pipes to the lamps
and burners which help to illuminate our Metropolis. The Company's
mains extend about 170 miles, and at any point they supply gas
with the same abundance and precision as at Nine Elms. At one
time the Works of the London Gas-Light Company at Vauxhall
were considered the most powerful and complete in the world, and
even now, in this age of rivalry and sharp competition, under the
judicious management of their Board of Directors and their skilled
Engineer, Robert Morton, Esq., the London Gas-Light Company
maintain an honourable position among other gas-light companies,
and are worthy the name they bear. The number of men employed
at these works in the Winter season is about 500. There is a* Sick
Pre vi dent Club belonging to the works.*
On a recently-exposed Section at Battersea.
Extracts from a Paper read before the Geologists* Association, March 1st, 1872,
by John A. Coombs, Esq.
" This section was exposed on apiece of ground recently acquired
by the London Gas-light Company for a Gas-holder Station. It is
situated to tKe north of the Prince of Wales' Eoad, Battersea,
between the high-level lines of the London, Brighton, and South-
Coast, and the London, Chatham, and Dover Railways, near the
point of their separation after crossing the Thames near the Chelsea
♦Suspension Bridge. The excavations were commenced at the latter
end of last year, for the purpose of constructing two gas-holder
tanks, each 185 feet inside diameter. The total length of the ex-
cavation, therefore, was about 400 feet, by about 200 feet in width,
and 30 feet in depth, the direction of the longest distance being
very nearly from N.W. to S.E.
Works is B (3) consisting of workshops, lobby, etc. The whole of the three
blocks were completed in about four months. (B. £. Nightingale, Builder and
Contractor). The factory bell has been mounted against one of the columns be-
longing to the gasholder near the timekeeper's office, and a gasholder of colossal
dimensions is being erected in the Company's field, Prince of Wales Road. The
alterations, improvements, etc., at these Works within the last ten years have
involved an outlay of about ^200,000. Yard Foreman, Mr. A. Wilson; Car-
bonizing Foremen, Messers. H. Walker, M. Walker, R. Johnston, W. Taylor,
T. Reynolds, G. Feeney ; Purifying Foremen, Messrs. D. Brown and H. Aylett ;
Foreman of Enginemen, Mr. G. Wilson ; Coke Foremen, Messrs. G. Smtth and
C. Meredith ; Coal Gang Foreman, Mr. W. Clowes ; Timekeeper, Mr. R.
Whitmore. Mf.R. Harvey was foreman over the men in the carbonizing de-
partment and had been upwards of forty year* hi the Company '^employment, in
consideration of his valuable services the Cdmpany hahre* granted him, as they
have also several other of their old and faithful servants, an annuity.
* All workmen employed by the London Gas-light Company (unless hired on
other terms) are engaged on weekly hirings, and are required to give, and
entitled to receive, a week's notice before leaving or being discharged from the
Company's service, except in case of misconduct, for which a workman will be
discharged without notice. By order of the Board,
i&h March % 1876. A. J. Dow, Sec*
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2*
d?he average surface of the ground was 12-ft. 9-in. above the
Ordnance Datum Level, or 3 inches above Trinity High Water
Mark. The general Section was as follows : —
Alluvial Soil and Vegetable Mould 2 feet.
Thames Valley Gravel - - - - 22 „
Altered London day (brown) - - 1 „
London Clay (excavated) - - - 5 „
An interesting series of mammalian remains were obtained from
the Valley Gravel, which, considering the limited extent of the ex-
cavation, and the number of specimens destroyed in the removal of
the material, shews this section to be fully as prolific in these
remains as the long-worked pits of Erith or Orayford. The
specimens have been examined anl identified by William Davies,
Esq , of the British Museum, who kindly undertook to compare
them with those in the national collection. The following is a list
of these remains : —
JSlphas primigenius, Blum. Portion of lower jaw and tooth,
and the shaft of a humerus of a young individual.
Rhinoceros tiehorhinus, Ouv. Part of a cranium, a lumbar
vertebra, a right metatarsus, and a left metacarpus.
Equus eabalhU fossiHs, Linn. A right metacarpus, a right
radius, and an upper molar.
Bos. sp. Cervical vertebrae.
Cervus olaphus, Linn. Portion of left ramus of lower jaw,
and portion of a right radius
Cervus tarandus, linn. The base of a shed antler. (This had
suffered considerable attrition).
There were also found a rib and a portion of an illium of a
Cervus (species indeterminable), besides many other fragments too
small or too much mutilated for recognition. But the most un-
usual fossil found in such deposits was that of Pliosaurus, a por-
tion of the paddle bone of which was found associated with the
remains above mentioned. This fossil, which was probably derived
from the Kimmeridge Clay, shewed evident signs of attrition, but
not so much as to efface the marks of muscular attachment ; it
was, moreover, charged with peroxide of iron. Search was made
in the anticipation of shells of Gyrena (CorbiculaJ fluminalis being
associated with these remains, but without success.
Immediately beneath the Thames Valley Gravel was the London
Clay, possessing all the typical features of that formation, without
any of the loamy gradations found in higher parts of the metropolis.
The top of the clay, however, to a depth varying from 9 to 12
inches, was of a brown colour, resembling the brown (altered) Lon-
don Clay found at Hampstead and elsewhere.
The clay was excavated only to a depth of a few feet, thus pre-
venting a great number of fossils being obtained. Those found,
ho^ ever, are sufficient for comparison with the zones of fossils
found in larger sections, and thus may afford evidence of the
amount of denudation to which the clay had been subjected at this
spot before the deposition of the gravel. By far the most abundant
fossil found in the London Clay was the Pentacrinm sub-basalti-
for mis, which was obtained in the rounded angular, as well as the
perfectly cylindrical form. The following Mollusca were also
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25
obtained :— Nautilus regain, Pyrtda Smithii, Fusus bifaseittus,
Voluta JPetherellii, Pleurotoma Uretrium, Natica labeUata, Eenta-
lium, sp., Leda amygdaloides, Nueula Bowerbankii, Cryptodon
angulatus, C. Goodallii, and Syndosyma splendent. Teredo borings,
Serpula, and teeth of Lamma complete the list of organic remains.
Septaria were abundant in the clay, many of which contained
drift-wood, bored by the Teredo, one contained a Nautilus regalis
as a nucleus, and several exhibited the usual crystallizations of
calcite, heavy spar, and iron pyrites. Selenite, however, was very
scarce in the clay, being found only in small crystals, and these by
no means numerous."
In Nine Elms Lane resided Mr. Sellar, a respectable tradesman
who kept a tea and cheesemonger's establishment, and who for five
years discharged his parochial duties as an overseer Greatly de-
ploring the irreligious condition of the spiritually-benighted poor
of the neighbourhood, he had erected at his own expense, a hall
at the back of his premises in Everet Street, to be used for religious
and secular educational purposes. Subsequently the hall was
rented by the Wesleyan Methodists, and was used by them as a
preaching station, Mr. Farmer acting as steward and superintendent
of the Sunday school which he commenced there. When the Sunday
school was opened in 1871, not more than 20 per cent, of the
children who presented themselves for admission could read, and
their knowledge. of the sacred contents of the Holy Scriptures was
nil. However, though the task was difficult, for seven years Mr.
John Farmer, assisted by his small staff of christian teachers : —
Plodded hard, and labour'd well
As many in Nine Elms can telL
The hall is now engaged by the Metropolitan Tabernacle Evan-
gelization Society. A Sunday school is still held in the place and
evangelistic services conducted there every Lord's day evening.
In this neighbourhood stood Phillips's Fire Annihilating Machine
Factory. The public were frequently invited to come and see the
working of the machines. At the time appointed an improvised
cottage was set on fire ; when fairly alight, the machines
were brought to bear upon the flames and with marked success.
A man and his wife had charge of the factory. One Sunday
morning the man went out into the fields with his gun, leaving his
wife to prepare dinner. Soon after the composition in the factory
exploded, and immediately the building was enveloped in flames—
the man hastened back to save his wife, but failed in his attempt
to rescue her — the poor woman perished.
BEAYNE'S POTTERY for Stone-ware manufacture has been
pulled down, on the site adjoining is Laver's Portland Cement
Works. The Lime Kilns which had stood nearly two centuries
have long since disappeared. The Whiting Works which mark
the site remain among the oldest structures in this vicinity were
established in the year 1666. At the entrance to the Works stood
the rib bones of a Whale which the proprietor fancifully had placed
there. One of the Whiting sheds formerly stood higher up the
river. Mr. Laver is the owner of these works. Where Lloyd and
Co' 8 Manufacturing Joinery Works are situated were the house,
timber yard and. premises, owned by Mr. Bobbins, father of Mrs.
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Cooper, Dairy, TTewTttoad. Near the spot where now stands the
Royal Bifletnai* tavern, was a timber dock. Moored close to the
rivers bank was a barge* house or cabin called "Noah's Ark."
In the dock adjoining Noah's Ark was an old steamboat said to
have been one of the first that "ran" on the Thames. The
river about this part offered great attraction to swimmers and be-
came a famous place for bathing. Hayle Foundry Wharf, Nine
Elms, is now occupied by H. Young & Co., Engineers and Con-
tractors, Founders, Smiths, etc. Their Art Works are at Eccleston,
Pimlico, and are noted for casting the statues of. Lord Derby,
o pp osite the House of Lords ; John Bunyan, erected at Bedford ;
Wellington Memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral, and (part finished)
Sir John Burgoyne.
THE SOUTHWARK AND VAUXHALL WATER WORKS.—
The Borough Works at St. Mary, Overies, in 1820, became
the property of one J. Edwards, who in 1822, also purchased from
the New River Company the Works on the South side of Lon-
don Bridge, and combined both concerns under the designation
of the " Southwark Water Works." The whole being thus
possessed by one opulent individual. In 1805, several persons
united to give effect to a scheme for organising the South London
Water Wo*ks (subsequently called the Vauxhall) and by an Act
of Parliament passed in July, 1805, they were incorporated as a
Ccmipatt jr, "with authority to raise capital hit attaining their object
fcttbufcttng t#£0O,0OO in 600 shares of £100 each. In June, 1813,
another 1 AttflVas obtained for empowering the Company to raise a
further sum-' 6f £80,000; The operations of this Company com-
menced inauspiciously f6r their interests by reason of their having
originally adopted woo<le r ri pipes, and having then been compelled
to substitute iron in" their, place. The principal works were on the
south side of Kennington Lane, formerly J£ennington Common,
near to Vauxhall. These companies experienced various vicissitudes
in their progress, until in 1845, when an amalgamation took place
under an Act of Parliament, to which we owe the creation of the
Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company as it now exists. The
area of the district supplied extendsfor about 13 miles E. and W.,
and 3 miles N. and S"., th'e'hfane district stretching from Rotherhithe
to Olapham and the suburban and rural districts from Wandsworth
to Richmond/ Thus' an area of 99 miles south of the Thames
receives a supply of water distributed to about 80,000 houses,
having a population of 550,000. The Company's property at
Battersea consists of one Pumping Station, standing on freehold
land of some 50 acres, and six Cornish Engines, erected by Messrs.
Harvey and Co., with a total of 1,200 horse power; two Reservoirs
of about 10 acres, containing about 46,000,000 gallons of water,
and six filter beds, having an area '10£ acres, with a filtering
eapaeity for 1,300,750 gallons of water per hour. The Filters are
ttf a' certain' depth filled with sand, through which the water
percolates, leaving the impurities on the surface to be removed at
pleasure. There are 18 fires or furnaces in the boiler house, the
daily 6onsumption of coal is about 22 tons. The water, at this
itftttenis pumped p&rtfy'ofter a stand pipe 186 f eet'- high,* and
' * A 'gentleman told the writer that this was vulgarly called by the sobriquet of
"Punch's Tuning Fdrki"
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the remainder through an air vessel to a height of about 380 feet.
The Company have considerable property at Hampton and Peckham.
The Registrar General's return shews the Company possess about
685 miles of mains and service pipes , 100 miles of which (mains)
are perpetually charged, and could be made available for constant
supply should circumstances render it desirable. Office, Sumner
Street, Southwark; Chief Engineer, Thos. W. Rumble, Esq.;
Resident Engineer, Mr. John Sampson. Adjacent to the Water
Works are premises belonging to Harvey and Co., Machine,
Hydraulic, and Mining Engineers of Hayle, Cornwall.
Fitz Stephen (William) a learned Monk of Canterbury, being
attached to the Service of Archbishop Becket was present at the
time of his murder. In the year 1174 he wrote in Latin the life
of 8t. Thomas, Archbishop and Martyr, in which as Becket was a
native of the Metropolis, he introduces a description of the City of
London with a miscellaneous detail of the manners and usages of
the Citizens ; this is deservedly considered a great curiosity, being
the earliest professed account of London extant. He describes
the springs and water courses which abound in the vicinity of
Old London as " sweet, salubrious, and clear," so that all that the
inhabitants and water-carriers had to do was to draw water from
the wells and springs, or dip their vessels in the pellucid stream of
the river which was fit for culinary and all ordinary and domestic
purposes. London then though considered a "Great City" was
as a small town when compared with its teeming population of
nearly 5,000,000 which people its City and environs now * Since
that time the Majestic Thames and its tributary streams have been
so polluted with sewerage and other deleterious and poisonous
matter as to induce some of the most scientific men of the age to
consider not only the desirability but the necessity of obtaining for
London a pure water supply. It is asserted as a fact that in
England and Wales alone upwards of eight hundred persons die
every month from typhoid fever ; a disease which is now believed
to be caused almost entirely through drinking impure water, and
Dr. Frankland, the official to whom is entrusted the analysing of
such matters reports " The Thames Water " notwithstanding the
care that is taken to filter it by certain Water Companies is so
much polluted by organic matters as to be quite unfit for dietetic
purposes.
The first conduit erected in the City of London (Westcheap now
Cheapside) was commenced in the year 1235 but was not completed
till 50 years afterwards (1285). The Citizens, who had to fetch
their water from the Thames often met with opposition from those
who resided in the lanes leading down to the river who monopolized
the right of procuring a water supply by stopping and imposing a
duty upon others who sought to obtain it. This state of things as
might be expected became unbearable and in 1342 an inquisition
was made and persons were sworn to inquire into the stoppages
and annoyances complained of in the several Wards. In the
fifteenth century the authorities of the City had erected New
* The London Metropolitan District covers an area of 690 square miles — con-
tains 6612 miles of streets. 528,794 inhabited houses ; Population (June 1873)
4»<>25,$59.
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Conduits and had laid down leaden pipes. " In 1439 the Abbot of
Westminster granted to Bobert Large, the Lord Mayor, and the
Citizens of London^ and their successors, one head of water con-
taining twenty-six perches in length and one in breadth, together
with all the springs in the Manor of Paddington for an annual
payment of two peppercorns." In the sixteenth century owing to
the increased population and the drying up of the springs other
means of supply were obtained in the neighbourhoods of Hamp-
stead Heath, Hackney, and Muswell Hill. An Act of Parliament
applied for by the Corporation was passed in 1544 for the purpose
of obtaining from these springs an increased supply for the North
"Western portions of the City. The scheme however was not carried
out until the year 1590 when another important source of supply
had been procured. In 1568 a conduit was constructed atDowgate,
for the purpose of obtaining water from the Thames." In 1580
Peter Morice, an ingenious Dutchman brought his scheme for
raising the Thames Water high enough to supply the upper parts
of the City, and in order to show its feasibility he threw a jet of
water over the steeple ot St. Magnus Church, a lease of 500 years
of the Thames Water, and the places where his mills stood, and
of one of the arches of London Bridge was granted to Morice, and
the Water Works founded by him remained until the beginning
of the present century," about the same time that Morice pro-
pounded his scheme for utilizing the Water of the Thames. Stow
informs us that a man of the name of Eussel proposed to bring
water into Loodon from Isle worth. In 1591 an Italian named
Frederick Genebelli said that he could cleanse the filthy ditches
about the city such as the Fleet Eiver, Hounsditch, etc., and bring
a plentiful supply of pure, wholesome water to the City through
them, but his offer does not appear to have been acoepted.
"In 1606 nearly £20,000 was expended in scouring the Eiver
Fleet, which was kept open for the purpose of navigation as high
as Holborn Bridge." An Act was passed in 1609 for bringing
water by means of engines from Hackney Marsh, to supply the
City of London ; the profits arising from the enterprise were to go
to the College of Polemical Divines, founded by Dr. Sutcliffe, at
Chelsea. At the close of Queen Elizabeth's Eeign an Act was
passed empowering the Corporation to cut a river for the purpose
of conveying water from Middlesex and Herefordshire to the City,
but nothing was done in this direction till after the accession of
James I to the throne. In 1605 and 1606 Acts of Parliament
were passed empowering the Corporation to bring water from the
Springs of Chadwell and Am well to the northern parts ol the City.
The Corporation transferred their power in 1609 to Hugh, after-
wards (Sir Hugh) Middleton, C^izen .and Goldsmith, who with
characteristic energy entered into the yast scheme which was
effectually carried out at an immense .expense. On Sept. 29th,
1613 the New Eiver was opened, and London from this source
received an abundant supply of water. The Hew Siver Company
was incorporated in 1620. The City was supplied with its water
by the conveyance of wooden pipes in the streets, and small
leaden ones to the houses.
Among the Becords known as the Remembrancia preserved
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among the Archives of the City of London. London, 1878. Some
curious particulars are mentioned respecting the applications made
by various noblemen to be allowed to have pipes, of the size of a
goose-quill, attached to the city pipes, for the purpose of supplying
their houses with water. "In 1592 Lord Cobham applied to the
Lord Mayor for a quill of water from the conduit at Ludgate to
his house in Blackfriars, but the consideration of the request was
postponed, and in 1594 Lord Burghley wrote to the Lord Mayor
and Alderman in support of Lord Cobham' s application. Lady
Essex and Walsingham asked for a supply of water for Essex-
house, in 1601, and obtained the Lord Chamberlain's (Earl of
Suffolk) influence to further their suit; but on Jane 8th, 1608,
the Lord Mayor wrote to Lord Suffolk that the water in the
conduits had become so low, and the poor were so clamorous on
account of the dearth, that it became necessary to cut off several of
the quills. 'Moreover,' he added, 'complaints had been made of
the extraordinary waste of water in Essex- house, it being taken
out only for dressing meat, but for the laundry, the stable, and
other offices, which might be otherwise served.' As London
extended itself westward, and the City came to join Westminster,
the drain must have been great upon the water supply, which was
originally intended for a considerably smaller area. In 1613,
Lord Fenton applied for a quill of water for his house at Charing
Cross, but the Lord Mayor refused to grant the request on the
ground that the conduits did not supply sufficient water for the
City. Sir Francis Bacon (afterwards the great Lord Verula u)
asked, in 1617, for a lead pipe to supply York-house, and Alio*,
Countess of Derby, requested to be allowed a quill of water m
the following year. This celebrated lady, afterwards married to
Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, lived in St. Martin* s-lane, an I wn loam
from the City letter-book (quoted in the index to the RM*mbr<incii)
the amount of water supplied to her was at the rare of three
gallons an hour. In subsequent years, we notice am >n* the
applicants for quills of water the celebrated names of Sir Harry
Vane, Denzell Holies, the Dukes of Albemarle and Buckingham,
and the Earl of Northumberland." Cavendish and Watt de-
monstrated that water is composed of 8 parts of Oxygen and 1 part
of Hydrogen. In freezing, water contracts till it is reduced to 42°
or 40° Fahr. It then begins to expand till it becomes ice at 32°.
Water was first conveyed to London by leaden pipes, 21 Heury III
1237.— Stow.
So late as Queen Anne's time there were water-carriers at Aldgate
Pump. The Water Works at Chelsea were completed and the
Company incorporated in 1722. London Bridge ancient water
works were destroyed bj fire, 29th Oct., 1779.
Commissioners for Metropolitan Water Supply appointed 27th
April, 1867 ; Report Signed 9th June, I §69; London supplied by
Nine Companies. The New River (the hesi) East London, Chelsea,
Grand Junction, Southwark, and Vauxhall, Kent, West Middle-
sex, Lambeth, and South Edsex; who deliver about 108,000,000
gallons daily, 1867 ; about 116,250,000 gallons daily, 1877.
In 1880, the Nominal Capital of Eight Water Companies was ^12,011,320,
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THE VILLAGE OP BATTERSEA lies on the south side of the
Thames opposite Chelsea, to which it has some historical relation-
ship on account of its haying been the seat of our Porcelain manu-
facture and of Saxon origin. It is situated about four miles South
West )f St. Paul's Cathedral. Battersea is a polling place for the
Mid-divisions of the County in the Wandsworth Division of the
West Brixton Hundred, Wandsworth Union and County Court
District, Surrey Arch-Deaconry, and late Winchester, but now
Rochester Diocese ;* it is also within the jurisdiction of the Central
Criminal Court, Metropolitan Board of Works, Metropolitan Police,
and Wandsworth Police Court. The Parish is divided into four
Wards. Penge f lies in Croydon district detached from the main
* An alteration has been made in the Diocesan arrangement. Since 1877,
Battersea together with other parishes in East and Mid- Surrey has been added to
the See of Rochester, and therefore is undei the jurisdiction of the Bishop of
that Diocese. The See of Rochester was founded A.D. 604. St.. Augustin or
Austin (the first Bishop of Canterbury A.D. 598). Consecrated Justus, the first
Bishop of Rochester The See of West Saxons (afterwards Winchester, A.D.
705) was founded A.D. 635. The first (arch) Bishop of London was Theanus,
A.D. 176 ( ? ) Battersea is now considered to be of sufficient importance to be
made a Rural Deanery, and Canon Clarke, the Rural Dean. Southwark Arch-
deaconry. " Diocese (Fr. from Gr. dioikesi*, administration and dioikeo, to
govern) the territory over which a bishop exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction. At
first, a diocese meant the collection of churches or congregations under the charge
of an archbishop. The name came afterwards to be applied to the charge of a
bishop, which had previously been called a parish. England and Wales are
divided ecclesiastically into two Provinces, viz., Canterbury and York, the former
being presided over by the Primate of all England, and the latter by the Primate
of England, each of which is sub-divided into dioceses, and these again into
Archdeaconries and Rural Deaneries and Parishes. A Diocese is synonyous
with the See of a SufFragan bishop." (Chamber's Encyclopedia). In England,
the Archbishop of Canterbury has the right of crowning the King, and the
Archbishop of York the right of crowning the Queen.
Twelve years ago, the County of Surrey was divided for Electoral purposes
into three Divisions named respectfully East, West, and Mid-Surrey. At the
time the Division was made in 1868 the Constituency of Mid-Surrey numbered
only 10,500. Now (March 1880) we have on the Register 20,400 electors dis-
tributed in the following manner : —
Battersea Polling District 7,092
,j Coulsdon „ „ 152
* Horley „ „ 465
, v Kingston „ „ 2,649
!T. Reigate & Red Hill „ 1,271
Richmond „ „ 2,727
Sutton „ „ 1,975
Wandsworth,, „ 2,596
Wimbledon „ „ 1,606
fThe Village of Penge stands adjacent to the boundary with Kent, to the
London and Brighton Railway, and to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
near the Crystal Palace, four miles N.N.E. of Croydon ; includes new streets on
what was formerly a common with picturesque oaks ; and has a post office of the
name of Penge Bridge and Penge Lane. The Chapelry contains also the
Crystal Palace with its Railway Station ; and it ranks politically as a Hamlet of
Battersea. Acres, 840; population in 1851, 1,169; in i86r, 5,015 } houses, 068;
population 1868, nearly 10,000. Villas are very numerous* and King William
4th Naval Asylum, the Watermen's Alms Houses, and the North Surrey
Industrial Schools are here. Tne Naval Asylum is for decayed widows of naval
officers, and was founded by Queen Adelaide. The Watermen's Alms Houses
were built in 1850, at a cost of j£50oo, and comprises '41 residences. The
Industrial Schools is for the parishes northward of the Thames, occupies a plot
of seven acres, with farm and kitchen garden ; and at the census of 1661 had 748
inmates. The, Chapelry is threefold, consisting of Penge proper, and one formed
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1839
4,764
Main Body
1841
. 6,616
Entire Parish
1841
6,887
Main Body
1861
19,600
Of Entire Parish
1861
24,615
Ditto
1871
67,218
Ditto
1880
body seven miles distant. The entire parish comprehends an area
of 3183 acres.* Acres of the main body, 2177 of land 166 of
water. — Wilton's Gazeteer of England and Wales. In 1792, there
were two places of worship, viz., the Parish Church and the Old
Baptist Meeting House in York Road; the number of houses within
the parish at that period was 380. The following tabular statement
wiD give but an inadequate conception of the growth of the
parish since then : —
Date of Year. Population. Number of Houses.
1831 5540*
*0f whom 3021 were females
801
3,125
3,793
15,208
Including 13,202 in Penge Hamlet.
££*£&£ ) l877 79 > 000 ».«»
In 1840 the rateable value was about £28,000.
In 1856 the rateable value was „ £79,100,
In 1876 the rateable value was „ £331,846.
In 1880 the rateable value was „ £416,000.
Anno Domini 1658, the Hamlet of Penge, seven miles from the
Parish Church, contained twelve families. The Commissioners who
were vested with power to unite or separate parishes did nothing
in this case, they could not find a convenient place in the Hundred
or County to unite it to. The nearest place of public worship was
Beckingham in Kent, about a mile distant.
With respect to the true etymology of the name Battersea, f it
in 1 868. The livings are P. Curacies in the diocese of Winchester. Value of
Penge, ^750; of Upper Penge, £800. Patrons of both Trustees. — Wilson's
Gazeteer of England and Wales.
Penge, for ecclesiastical purposes, is a separate parish, and has its own Over-
seers and supports its own poor. The Church of St. John the Evangelist is a
modern gothic stone structure with tower and spire. The population of St.
John's E. Parish in 187 1 was 8,345, and the area is 500 acres. The Church of
Holy Trinity, South Penge, to which a district was assigned in 1873, is built of
brick with stone dressings consisting of chancel, nave and side aisles. The
foundation stone was laid by the Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury, R.G.,
April 17, 1872. The Church cost ^7,500, and is capable of seating 1,000. The
Register dates from 1874. The living is a vicarage. There are Chapels for
Independents, Baptists, and Wesleyans, and National Schools.
• According to the Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties, edited by
E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.R.S., 1874, Battersea comprises 2,203 acres of land rod
159 water.
t Some of the old inhabitants of Battersea have a notion that Battersea took
its name originally from a great battle that was fought in shallow water knee-
deep when the river was fordable, hence Battersea, Battelsea or Battlesea — as
the name itself appears to be somewhat shrouded in obscurity there may be
some partial truth in this oral statement though we are not acquainted with
any authentic records which warrant us to affirm that Battersea derived its
name from this ci rcum stanc e*
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was anciently writtenBattriefl-ey, and in Doom's-dayBookPatries-ey,
probably a mistake for Patrice-ey and signifying St. Peter's Isle,
the termination ey, from the Saxon eze or ize, often occurring in the
name of places adjacent to great rivers; as Putney, Molesley,
Chertsey, etc. Battersea has a history dating from the time of
Harold. At the Norman Conquest it passed into the hands of
William the Conqueror, who exchan ge d it with the Abbey of St.
Peter's, at Westminster, for lands at Windsor.
The earliest record we have of Battersea appears in Doomsday
Book, where it is written Pattricesy. Some authors have supposed
that because Petersham, which belonged to St. Peter's Abbey,
Chertsey, is there spelt Patricesham, that the earliest form of
Battersea originated its connexion with St. Peter's Abbey, the e
they say in both these words was sibilant and therefore did not
differ very much in pronunciation from that it is now, though
they admit that it is a " curious anomaly that while P in Patricesy
has been changed into B the P in Patricesham remains unchanged."
What the final syllable represents is less clear as there are now no
traces of Battersea having been an island although there may have
been once. Chelsea, it is remarked, " was originally Ceale-hythe or
Chelc-hythe, and a haven on the Thames, not an island, just as
Lambeth, was ' Lambe-hithe 9 or haven, but there is no recorded form
of Battersea that would allow us to say that ey or ea represented
hithe. There was, however, until about thirty years ago, a Creek,
up which tradition reports that Queen Elizabeth rowed. A bright
little stream rising in Tooting, and passim? by Wandsworth Com-
mon, flowed into the Thames at this Creek, which is now a mere
sewer, and its better character is only kept in remembrance by the
name of Creek Street." The Rev. Daniel Lysons, in a book en-
titled "The Environs of London," published in 1792, which,
through the kindness of Mr. B.. J. S. Kentish, Librarian of the
Beaufoy Library, we have had the privilege of consulting, says,
"the name has undergone several changes. In the Conqueror's
Survey, it is called Patricesy, and has since been written Battrichsey,
Battersey and Battersea, each variation carrying it still further
from its original signification. Of the original signification of the
word, I think there can be little doubt Patricesy in the Saxon is
Peter's water or river ; and as the same record which calls it
Patricesy mentions that it was given to St. Peter, it might then
first assume that appellation, but this I own is conjecture. Peter-
sham, which is precisely the same in Doomsday — Patriceham, be-
longed to St. Peter's Abbey, Chertsey, and retains its original
name a little modernised. Aubrey, Vol. I. p. 135, derives the
name from St. Patrick ; but Aubrey was mistaken by seeing it
written Patricesy, instead of Petricesy, in Doomsday ; but the
Normans were not very accurate spellers. Petersham was written
in the same manner with an a." # "The Parish of Battersea is
bounded on the East by Lambeth, on the South by Camber well,
Streatham and Olaphaxn ; on the West by Wandsworth, and on the
* The Manor of Peckham in the Confessor's reign belonged to this Parish,
which has since been thrown into Camberwell ; Penge being still continued as
part of the Manor though separated from the rest by Streatham and Lambeth. —
Manning and Bray's History and Antiquities of Surrey, Vol. I., p. 327.
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Worth "by the River Thames. The greater part of Wandsworth
Common, which extends nearly two miles in length towards
Streatham, and a considerable part of Clapham Common are in the
Parish of Battersea." The boundaries of Clapham Parish, accord-
ing to the oldest documents of that Parish and Manor, when taken,
have usually commenced at the corner of Wix's Lane, formerly
called Browmell's corner. The limits of Clapham Parish where it
adjoins Battersea in the early part of last century was the subject
of a legal contest, that part of Clapham Common extending to
Battersea Eise being claimed by both parishes. In 1716 the in-
habitants of Battersea inclosed with a ditch and bank the tract of
land in question, and the people of Clapham levelled the bank and
filled up the ditch ; in consequence of which Henry Lord Viscount
St. John, the Lord of the Manor of Battersea, brought an action
for trespass against those who were engaged in this work, or their
employers, which was tried at the Lent Assizes at Kingston, in
1718, when the plaintiff was non-suited. The men of Battersea
however were not discouraged but persevered with greater de-
termination than ever in supporting their claim by including when
they beat the boundaries of their Parish the disputed ground in
their perambulations; and says Mr. Brayley "it would seem to
have been eventually successful, a certain portion of the Common
being now held on lease of Earl Spencer as Lord of the Manor of
Battersea." — Brayley, Surrey Mantel, Vol. III. p. 281.
Last century Clapham Common was little better than a morass ;
it covers 202 acres. The number and variety of trees both
English and exotic ^ ith which it is ornamented give it very much
the appearance of a park. The Metropolitan Boaid of Works have
purchased the manorial rights over the Common which is now
under their supervision. " In the year 1874 (says Mr Walford)
the Enclosure Commissioners for England and Wales under
the Metropolitan Common Act, 1866, and Metropolitan Com-
mons' Amendment Act, 1869, certified a scheme for placing the
Common under the control of the Local Board, the Common was
purchased for the sum of £17,000 and it was proposed that it
should be dedicated to the use and recreation of the public for
ever. By the above mentioned scheme the Board were to drain,
plant, and ornament the Common as nesessary, no houses were
to be built thereon, but eight lodges necessary for its main-
tenance.
The writer of a work entitled " Clapham with its Common and
Environs," says, "The Mount-Pond was originally a gravel pit,
excavated principally to form the turnpike road from Tooting to
London. The Mount was raised, and a Pagoda Summer House
planted on the top, by Henton Brown, Esq., of the firm of Brown
and Tritton, Bankers, Lombard Street, member of the Society of
Friends. Mr. Brown lived in the house, late in the occupation of
J. Thornton, Esq., and was at great expense in forming the Mount
and Pond. The Mount was larger than it now is, and planted with
choice shrubs as well as trees. A bridge was thrown over the east
side to connect it with the Common, and a pleasure boat was kept
under it, but which after the failure of Mr. Brown, went rapidly to
decay. He fenced it round with posts and rails, and in 1748 the
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Parish gave him leave to put down a close fence, which a sub-
sequent vestry refused to ratify. Hewasalso at the expense of making
a conduit from the pond to supply a reservoir in his own grounds."
Lavender Hill seems to have been long noted for its nursery gardens.
Situated on the Hill was Lavender Villa — at the foot of Lavender
Hill was a brook. Now Lavender Hill has the appearance of a
busy town. Splendid shops, handsomely decorated and well stocked
line both sides of the main thoroughfare, and rows of respectable
houses and semi-detached villas forming roads and streets have
sprung up in all directions. The same may be said of a great
portion of Batterpea Eise extending to Bolingbroke Grove. Stately
trees have been felled and green slopes that were are now covered
with houses, with here and there a place of worship, and all this
transformation has taken place within the last twelve years. Clap-
ham Common and its immediate vicinity was in the early years of
the present century the seat of the knot of zealous men who,
labouring together for what they believed to be the interest of pure
religion, the reformation of manners and the suppression of
slavery, came to be known as the Clapham sect. One of the most
distinguished of them, William Wilberforce, lived at the house
known as "Broomfield," (Broomwood) on the south-west side of
Clapham Common, and there his no less distinguished son, the late
Bishop of Winchester, was born September 7th, 1805. Con-
terminous with his fair demesne was that of Henry Thornton, the
author and prime mover of the conclave, whose meetings were held,
for the most part, in the oval saloon which William Pitt, dismissing
for a moment his budgets and his subsidies, planned to be added
to Henry Thornton's newly-purchased residence. ... It arose
at his bidding, and yet remains, perhaps a solitary monument of
the architectural skill of that imperial mind. Lofty and symetrical,
it was curiously winscoted with books on every side except where
it opened on a far-extended lawn reposing beneath the giant arms
of aged elms and massive tulip trees." — Stephen's Essays, Vol. II.
J). 290. "In this saloon, and on the far-extended lawn, after their
ong years of effort, assembled in joy and thanksgiving and mutual
congratulation over the abolition of the slave trade, Wilberforce,
Clarkson, Granville, Sharp, Stephen, Zackary, Macaulay and their
younger associates and disciples. But the Yilla-cinctured-Common
was also the birthplace or crfcdle of another and hardly less re-
markable and far-reaching religious movement or institution. Just
as it was the dwelling place, the home or haunt of every one of the
most eminent supporters of the anti- slavery movement, so was it
the home or haunt of the founders of the Bible Society, its earliest
ministers or secretaries, and above all the first and greatest of its
presidents, John Lord Teignmouth." — Handbook to the Environs of
London, by James Thome, F.S.A., Part I. p.p. Ill, 112. Broom-
wood was the seat of the late Sir Charles Forbes, contiguous to
which and facing the tall poplar tree is situated a spacious villa
once the residence of the late Frances Elizabeth Leveson Gower,
an estimable christian maiden-lady who was a subscriber to several
benevolent institutions. She used to conduct bible readings not
only for the female servants of the gentry of Clapham Common but
fdso for navvies and others pf the labouring classes in her own
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dining room, where they partook of her generous hospitality after
their daily toil in the shape of a hearty meal.
A Good Example of liberality was given by one Mr. Thornton,
of Clapham, a noble-hearted Christian merchant. One morning,
when he had received news of a failure that involved him in the
loss of no less than a hundred thousand pounds, a minister from
the country called at his counting-house to ask a subscription for
an important object. Hearing that Mr. Thornton had suffered
that loss, he apologized for having called. But Mr. Thornton took him
kindly by the hand and said : " My dear sir, the wealthl have is not
mine, but the Lord's. It may be that He is going to take it out of
my hands, and give it to another ; and if so, this is a good reason
why I should make a good use of what is left." He then doubled
the subscription he intended to give.
The recently deceased and much lamented Philip Cazenove was
for thirty years a parishioner, residing on Battersea Rise, whose
name was a Synonym for kindness and christian charity con-
cerning whom we feel that we cannot pass a better eulogium than
that recorded in St. Mary's, Battersea, Parish Magazine for February,
1880. " He has been a benefactor such as a parish rarely numbers
amongst its church folk. The magnificent Girls' School in Green
Lane was added to Miss Champion's benefaction, almost at Mr.
Cazenove' s sole cost. To every church building scheme, to Bat-
tersea College, to new schools, to the proposed Hospital, tp every
good work he was a munificent contributor. And what he did in
Battersea, he did in all parts of East and South London, indeed in
all parts of the metropolis and in the country. And he sought no
thanks for his donations, but with a rare self-forgetfulness he
seemed to avoid the acknowledgments of gratitude. His liberality,
great as it was, by no means represented all that he did for good
works. In our parish he took a personal interest in our Schools of
all grades. He always had words of kind encouragement for the
teachers. He was always ready to preside at any meeting, or to
act on any committee. And as his alms deeds went far beyond his
own parish so did his personal service. There was no more
familiar face than his in the Board-rooms of the great Church
Societies, for some of the chief of which, as the Gospel Propagation
Society, he acted as Treasurer. He was an active member of the
governing bodies of Guy's Hospital, and other-like institutions,
and everywhere he freely gave his sunny sympathy and the ripe
counsels of his long experience. He was indeed a notable instance
of an open-handed, simple-hearted Churchman, some would add
' of the old school,' and we would say, may God of His mercy put
it into the hearts of others to perpetuate such a ' school ' for truly
they are a blessing and a stay to all around them. Our venerated
friend was stricken with illness in the beginning of last year, and
it seemed as if he would then have succumbed to the physical
weakness of the action of that great loving heart. But he rallied
somewhat, and during the summer and autumn he was able to sit
in his garden or to drive out in his carriage. He was able to be
at 8. Mark's on S. Michael's Day, 1879, and to receive the Holy
Communion there for the last time in the Sanctuary. With the
return of winter, his weakness increased; and after a year of
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weariness and languor and the depression incident to his illness,
he entered into the Best, for which he had yearned, in the early
morning of January 20. Philip Cazenove, born Nov. 23, 1798 ;
died January 20, 1880, aged 81.
Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims
For all the pious dead,
Sweet is the savour of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.
They die in Jesus, and are bless'd ;
How kind their slumbers are !
From sufferings and from sins released,
And freed from every snare.
Far from this world of toil and strife,
They're present with the Lord :
The labours of their mortal life
End in a large reward. — Isaac Watts, 1709.
At a semi-detached villa situated in this part of the Common,
resided the late Charles Curling, Esq., whose memory many of the
poor inhabitants of Old Battersea cherish with feelings of grateful
respect. He relieved the temporal wants of the needy ; opened day
and night schools in order that the poorest might be educated ;
under his excellent wife's superintendence maternal meetings were
conducted ; at his own expense he supported an Evangelist and
a Bible Woman to work in the district.
The Villa adjoining that of Mr. Curling's was occupied by the
late Misses Sarah Hibbert and Mary Ann Hibbert, who erected
Alms Houses in. Wandsworth Road, Clapham, for eight aged
women, in grateful remembrance of their father, William Hibbert,
who was for many years an inhabitant of Clapham. Not least
among the benefactresses of the poor might be mentioned the
names of Lady George Pollock, Lady Lawrence, Mrs. Sillem, aud
Mrs. Robert Jones, of this part, (all deceased). The memory of
the just is blessed !
When Lysons wrote, Battersea Rise being a salubrious locality
was ornamented with several villas, also it was much admired
for its pleasant situation and fine prospect. Referring to the
Market Gardens, etc., he says, " About 300 acres of land in
the Parish of Battersea are occupied by the market gardeners, of
whom there are about twenty who rent from five or six to nearly
sixty acres each." Fuller, who wrote in the year 1660, speaking of
the gardens in Surrey, states, " Gardening was first brought into
England for profit, about 70 years ago ; before which we fetched
most of our cherries from Holland, apples from France, and hardly
a mess of rath ripe peas but from Holland ; which were dainties for
ladies, they come so far and cost so dear. Since gardening hath
crept out of Holland to Sandwich, Kent, and thence to Surrey ;
where, though they have given £6 an acre and upwards, they have
made their rent, lived comfortably, and set many people at work.
Oh the incredible profit by digging of ground ! for though it be
confessed, that the plough beats the 6pade out of distance for speed,
(almost as much as the press beats the pen), yet, what the spade
wants in the quantity of the ground it manureth, it recompensed
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with fhe plenty of the good it yieldeth, that which is multiplying
an hundred fold more than that which is sown. 'Tis incredible how
many poor people in London live thereon, so that in some seasons
the gardens feed more people than the field." — Fuller's Worthies,
Pt. 3, p. 77. " These gardeners," continues Lysons " employ in
the summer season a considerable number of labourers, though
perhaps not so many as is generally supposed — on an average I am
informed, not one to an acre. The wages of the men are from ten
to twelve, of the women from five to seven shillings by the week.
Most of the women travel on foot from Shropshire and North
Wales in the spring, and as they live at a very cheap rate, many of
them return to their own country richer than they left it. The soil
of the ground occupied by the gardeners is sandy and requires
a great deal of rain. The vegetables which they raise are in
general very fine ; their cabbages and asparagus particularly have
acquired celebrity." The asparagus first grown in or near London
was raised by the Battersea gardeners. Owing to its rich and
alluvial soil, Battersea has always been noted for its fine asparagus
— 110 heads of extraordinary size and fit for the kitchen have been
known to weigh 32 lbs.* There was no market at Battersea, its
vegetable produce was sent to the London market. In Bibliotheea
T&pographica Britannica Antiquities (British Museum) Yol. II. p. 227,
is a brief note on Battersea by Mr. Theobald. This old writer says,
" The lands are fruitful beyond most others and this Parish is
famous in the London market for its asparagus, hence called
Battersea Bundles. It also in the time of a noted man there, one
Mr. Cuff, was famous for producing the finest melons. The com-
mon field called Battersea Field, is constantly cropped with peas,
beans, wheat, etc. . . . Lands are here let from 50s. down to 16s. an
acre. . . . There are three windmills on the river's brink, one for
corn, one grinds colours for the potters, and another serves to grind
whitelead. Being in the neighbourhood of London so commodiously
* " Among other branches of industry introduced by the Flemings at Sanwich,
that of gardening is worthy of notice. The people of Flanders had long been
famous for their horticulture, and one of the first things which the foreign settlers
did on arriving in the place was to turn to account the excellent qualities of the soil
in the neighbourhood, so well suited for gardening purposes. Though long
before practised by the Monks, gardening had become a lost art in Eugland. It
is said that Katherine, Queen of Henry 8th, unable to obtain a salad for her
dinner in England, had her table supplied ifrom the low countries. The first
Flemish gardens proved highly successful. The cabbage, carrots, and celery pro-
duced by the foreigners met with so ready a sale, and were so much in demand in
London itself, that a body of gardeners shortly removed from Sandwich and
settled at Wandsworth, Battersea, and Bermondsey, where many of the rich
garden grounds first planted by the Flemings continue to be the most productive
in the neighbourhood of the Metropolis."
" Some of the Flemish refugees settled at "Wandsworth and began several
branches of industry, as the manufacture of felts, the making of brass plates for
culinary utensils."
" In addition to the Flemish Churches in the City, at the West-end, and in
Spitalfields, there were several thriving congregations ia the suburban districts of
London ; one of the oldest of these was at Wandsworth, where a colony of
protestant Wallons settled about the year 1570. Having formed themselves as a
congregation, they erected a chapel for worship, which is that standing nearly
opposite the Parish Church, the building bearing this inscription on its front :
Erected, 1573 ; Enlarged, 1685; Repaired, 1809, 1831."— Samuel Smile's
Huguenots in England and Ireland, P.P. 85, 86, 88, 267, 4th Edition.
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within about four miles of the City and on the bants of tlie rive*
Thames, where so many conveniences of carriage are constantly to
be met, and the merchant can in an hour return to his country
house. Several citizens and merchants have both built handsome
houses here."
In 1816, Stages set out for Battersea from the following places : —
A coach from Pewter Platter, Gracechurch Street, and Black Dog
and Camel, Leadenhall Street, daily at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m.,
Sunday morning at 11. Bed Lion, Strand, daily 11 a.m., 3 and
7 p.m. A cart, Kings and Key, Fleet Street ; Bell, Bell Yard, and
G-eorge and Gate, and Pewter Platter, Gracechurch Street ; King's
Arms, Bishopgate Within; Ship and Hope, Charing Cross, and
Angel and Sun, "White Hart, and Spotted Dog, Strand, daily at
2 p.m. Boats, Queenhithe, and Globe, Hungerford Stairs daily.
Waterman's rates from London Bridge to Chelsea (Battersea)
Bridge — oars, whole fare 2/6, sculls 1/3, with company each person
oars or sculls 4d. Not more than eight persons in any passage-
boat between Windsor and Greenwich. Over the water directly
every person Id. and sculler's fare 2d. No waterman could be
compelled to go below the Pageants, andRatcliff Cross Stairs, or above
Yauxhall and Feathers Stairs after five, from Michaelmas to Lady
Day, nor after nine in the evening from Lady Day to Michaelmas.
The annual fair held here in Battersea Square, at Easter, was after-
wards suppressed. The houses in Old Battersea were irregularly built ;
the inhabitants were supplied with water from springs. The County
Magistrates held a meeting at Wandsworth, an adjoining village,
where also a Court of Request for the recovery of debts under £5
was held, under an Act obtained in the 31st of George II., the
power of which was extended by an Act in the 46th of George III.
The Court of Bequests, which is called a court of conscience, was
first instituted in the reign of Henry 7th, 1493, and was re-
modelled by a statute of Henry 8th, in 1517. — Stowe. Established
for the summary recovery of small debts under forty shillings, but
in the City of London the jurisdiction extends to debts of £5. —
Ashe. There were Courts of Eequest in the principal corporate
towns throughout the kingdom, until 1847, when they were super-
seded (those of the City of London excepted) by the County Debts
Court, whose jurisdiction, extending at first to £20, was enlarged
in 1850 to £50. The Lord of the Manor held a Court Leet at
Wandsworth, at which the Head borough and constables for Batter-
sea were appointed.
" The Manor of Battersea, which, before the conquest, belonged
to Earl Harold, was given by the Conqueror to Westminster Abbey
in exchange for Windsor. The Manor was valued in the Confessor's
time at £80, it afterwards sunk in value to £30, and at the time of
the Survey was estimated at £75. In the taxation of 1291, the
possessions of the Abbey of Westminster in Battersea were rated
at £15. Thomas Astle, Esq., (says Lysons) has an original deed
of Archbishop Theobald, confirming a charter of King Stephen by
which he exempts the greater part of the Manor from all taxes and
secular payments. Dart mentions several charters relating to
Battersea, viz., William the Conqueror's original grant; a charter
of privilege j a grant to the Abbot of Westminster of liberty to
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lmnt in tliis Sfcanor ; a charter of confirmation in Heniry flie 3?irsfc,
and another of King Stephen, besides that of privilege before
mentioned."
" After the disolution of monasteries, the Manor was reserved in
the hands of the Crown ; a lease of it was granted to Henry
Roydon, Esq., by Queen Elizabeth, for twenty-one years, in the
eighth year of her reign ; it was afterwards granted for the same
term to his daughter, then Joan Holcroft; and was assigned
amongst others for the maintenance of Prince Henry, A.D. 1610.
In the year 1627, it was granted in reversion to Oliver St. John
Viscount Grandison/ Sir Oliver St. John was the first of the family
who settled at Battersea, he married Joan, daughter and heir of
Henry Roydon, Esq., of this place, widow of Sir William Holcroft.
Lord Grandison died in 1630, and was succeeded in that title and
in the Battersea Estate by "William Villiers, his great-nephew, who
died of a wound received at the seige of Bristol, A.D. 1644. Sir
John St. John, Bart., nephew of the first Lord Grandison, inherited
Battersea ; from him it passed in a regular descent to Sir "Walter
St. John, Bart., his nephew, to Sir Walter's son, Henry Viscount
St. John, and to his grandson, Henry Viscount Bolingbroke, who,
by an Act of Parliament passed before his father's death, was
enabled to inherit his estate, notwithstanding his attainder. The
estate and manor continued in the St. John family till 1763, when
it was bought in trust for John Viscount Spencer, and is now
property of the present Earl Spencer.''* — Ly sons' 8 Environs.
Battersea has many memorials ; its historic interest culminates
in its association with the St. Johns. One is stated to have been
" eminent for his piety and moral virtues." Henry in 1684 pleaded
guilty of the murder of Sir William Estcourt, Bart., in a sudden
quarrel arising at a supper party. His case, if Bishop Burnet be
correct, could be regarded only as manslaughter, but he was induced
to plead guilty by a promise of pardon if he followed that advice
or of his being subjected to the utmost rigour of the law on his
refusal. No pardon is enrolled but it is stated that the King
granted him a reprieve for a long term of years ; and in the Rolls
Chapel is a restitution of the Estate (Pat 36 Charles II.) for which
it Tftould seem and the reprieve conjoined he had to pay £16,000,
one half of which Burnet says the King converted to his own use
and bestowed the remainder on two ladies then in high favour. —
Burnett History of his own times ; fol ; 1724. Vol. L p. 600.
Bolingbroke or Bullingbroke, a town of great antiquity in
Lincolnshire, gave the title of Viscount to the St. John's of Battersea.
In 1700, Sir Walter St. John founded and endowed a free school
for twenty boys, and both he and his lady afterwards left further
sums for apprenticing some of the number. It was re-built in
1859. Over the gateway in the High Street, are carved the Arms
of St. John, and underneath them is inscribed the motto, " Rather
Deathe than false of Eaythe." As we gazed upon the above motto
we were reminded of other lines which we have seen and read
elsewhere. Sir Walter St. John died 3rd July, 1808, aged 87 ; his
* Customs of the Manor. — In this Manor, lands descended to the youngest
sons ; but in default of sons, they do not go to the youngest daughter, but are
divided among the daughters equally.— Lysons.
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portrait is in the school. He built a gallery at the wegt end of the
Old Church.
" Dare to be right, dare to be true ;
Other men's failures can never save you ;
Stand by your conscience, your honour, your faith ;
Stand like a hero, and battle till death.
Dare to be right, dare to be true ;
Keep the great judgment day always in view,
Look at your work, as you'll look at it then,
Scanned by Jehovah, and Angels and men.
Dare to be right, dare to be true ;
God who created you, cares for you too,
Wipe off the tears that His striving ones shed,
Counts and protects every hair of your head.
Dare to be right, dare to be true ;
Cannot Omnipotence carry you through ?
City, and Mansion, and throne all in view,
Cannot you dare to be right and be true ?
Dare to be right, dare to be true ;
Prayerfully, lovingly, firmly pursue
The pathway by Saints, and by Seraphim trod
The pathway which leads to the City of God."
Bolingbroke (Henry St. John) Lord Viscount, descended from an
ancient and noble family as we , have already seen. His Mother
was Mary, daughter of Robert Eich, Earl of Warwick. He re-
ceived a liberal education at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford,
and when he left the University was considered to possess un-
common qualifications, but with great parts he had strong passions,
which as usually happens, hurried him into many follies and
indiscretions. Contrary to the inclinations of his family he
cultivated tory connections, and gained such influence in the
House of Commons, that in 1704 he was appointed Secretary of
War and of the Marines. He was closely united in all political
measures with Mr. Harley; when therefore that gentleman was
removed from the seals in 1707, Mr. St. John resigned his office;
and in 1710, when Mr. Harley was made Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, the post of Secretary of State was given to Mr. St. John.
In 1712, he was created Baron St. John of Lediard, Tregose in
Wiltshire, and Viscount Bolingbroke. But being overlooked in
the bestowal of vacant ribands of the Order of the Garter, it is
said he resented the affront and renounced the friendship of Harley,
then Earl of Oxford, and made his court to the Whigs ; nevertheless,
on the accession of George 1st, the seals were taken from him.
Having been informed that a resolution was taken to pursue him
to the scaffold for his conduct regarding the treaty of Utretcht,
Signed 11th of April, 1713, he withdrew into France and joined
the Pretender's* service and accepted the seals as his Secretary.
♦Pretenders, a name given to the son and grandsons of James II. of England.
The Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, Chevalier de St. George,
bom ioth June, 1688, was acknowledged by Louis XlV. as Tame3 III. of
England, in 1701 proclaimed and his standard set up, at Braemar and Castletown,
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But lie was as unfortunate in his new connection as those lie had
renounced, for the year 1715 was scarcely expired, while being
attainted of high treason at home, he was accused by the Pretender
of neglect, incapacity and treachery, and had the papers and seals
of Foreign Secretary's Office taken away. Such a complication of
distressful events threw him into a state of reflection that pro-
duced by way of relief " a consolatio philosophical ' which he wrote
the same year under the title of "Reflection upon Exile. * The
next year he drew up a vindication of his conduct with respect to
the Tories in the form of a letter to Sir William Wyndhami In
1718 his first wife died ; in 1720 he married a niece of the famous
Madam Maintenon and widow of the Marquis de Villette,* with
whom he had a very large fortune. In 1723, after being in exile
seven years, the King was prevailed upon to grant him a free
pardon, and he returned in consequence to England. But his spirit
was not satisfied within while he remained a mere titular Lord,
and excluded from the House of Peers. His recall had been
assented to by Sir Robert "Walpole, but he cherished a secret dis-
like to "Walpole and regarded him as the cause of his not receiving
the full extent of the King's clemency. Walpole invited Boling-
broke to dine with him at Chelsea, but it appeared to Bolingbroke
rather to shew his power and prosperity than for any other reason.
Horace Walpole, the celebrated son of the Minister, says in his
"Reminiscences" "Whether tortured at witnessing Sir Robert's
serene frankness and felicity, or suffocated with indignation and
confusion at being forced to be obliged to one whom he hated and
envied, the first morsel he put into his mouth was near choking
him, and he was reduced to rise from the table and leave the room
for some minutes. I never heard of their meeting more." He
distinguished himself by a multitude of political writings till the
year 1735, when being thoroughly convinced that the door was
shut against him, he returned once more to France. In this foreign
retreat he began his course of letters on the Study and Use of
History for Lord Combury, to whom they are addressed. Lord
Bolingbroke was born and died in the family Mansion at Battersea.
in Scotland, landed at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire from France to encourage the
rebellion that the Earl of Mar and his adherents had promoted, 25th December,
1 7 15. This rebellion having been soon suppressed, the Pretender escaped to
Montrose (from whence he proceeded to Gravelines) 4th February 17 16. Died
at Rome, 30th December, 1765. The Young Pretender, Charles Edward, was
born in 1720, landed in Scotland and proclaimed his father King 25th July, 1745 ;
gained the battle of Preston-Pan?, 21st September, 1745, an d °* Falkirk, 27th
January, 1746; defeated at Cuiloden, and sought safety by flight 1 6th April,
1746. He continued wandering among the wilds of Scotland for nearly six
months, and as ^30,000 were offered for taking him, he was constantly pursued
by the British troops, often hemmed round by his enemies, but still rescued by
some lucky incident, and at length escaped from the Ulst Morilaix in September.
He died 31st January, 1788. His natural daughter assumed the title of Duchess
of Albany; died in 1789. His brother, the Cardinal York, calling himself
Henry IX. of England, born March, 1725, died at Rome in August, 1807.
* When he was about twenty-six years of age he was married to the daughter
and co-heiress of Sir Henry Winchescomb, of Bucklebury, in Berkshire, Bart.,
and the same year, 1700, he entered the House of Commons, being elected
for the Borough of Wotton-Basset in "Wiltshire, by a family interest, his father
having serve4 several times for the same place.
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The house was very large, with forty rooms on a floor ; hut with
the exception of a wing,* it has long since been taken down and
otherwise appropriated.} Dives' Flour Mills cover a portion of
the site where once stood this venerable mansion. Upon the death
of his father, who lived to be extremely old, Lord Bolingbroke
settled at Battersea, where he passed the remaining nine years of his
life in philosophical dignity. Pope and Swift, one a great poet, the
other a great wit of that time, almost adored him. Arbuthnot,
Thompson, Mallet, and other contemporary men of genius were his
frequent visitors. Mr. Timbs says "here took place the memorable
destruction of one of Bolingbroke's most celebrated works, his
" Essay on a Patriotic King," of which the noble author had printed
only six copies, which he gave to Lord Chesterfield, Sir William
Wyndham, Lyttelton, Pope, Lord Marchmont, and Lord Combury,
at whose instance Bolingbroke wrote the essay. Pope lent his
copy to Mr. Allen, of Bath, who was so delighted with it that he
had five hundred copies printed, but locked them up in a warehouse,
not to see light until Lord Bolingbroke' s permission could be
obtained On the discovery, Lord Marchmont (them living at Lord
Bolingbroke' s house at Battersea), sent Mr. Gravenkop for the
whole cargo, and he had the books carried out on a waggon and
burnt on a lawn in the presence of Lord Bolingbroke." Pope,
when visiting his friend Lord Bolingbroke, usually selected as his
study a parlour (the grate and ornaments were of the age of George
1st) wainscoted with cedar, and overlooking the Thames, in which
he is said to have composed some of his celebrated works. It is
well known that he received from him the materials for his famous
poem the " Essay on Man."
Lord Bolingbroke was born about the year 1672, or as some
. think, in 1678 ; he was baptized October 10, 1678 ; died December
12, 1751, and left the care and benefit of his M.S.S. to Mr. Mallet,
who published them together with his former printed works in five
vols. 4to. ; they are also printed in 8vo.
Lord Bolingbroke sank under a dreadful malady beneath which
he had long lingered — a cancer in the face — which he bore with
exemplary fortitude. " A fortitude," says Lord Brougham " drawn
from the natural resources of his mind, and unhappily not aided by
the consolation of any religion ; for having cast off the belief in
revelation, he had substituted in its stead a dark and gloomy
naturalism, which even rejected those glimmerings of hope as to
futurity not untasted by the wiser of the heathen." He used to
ride out in his chariot every day, and had a black patch on his
cheek, with a large wart over one of his eyebrows. He was thought
to be essentially selfish ; he spent little in the place and gave little
away, so that he was not regarded much by the people of Battersea.
A popular writer states that " Bolingbroke's talents were brilliant
and versatile ; his style of writing was polished and eloquent ; but
the fatal lack of sincerity and honest purpose which characterised
him, and the low and unscrupulous ambition which made him
* The ceilings of three of the chambers upstairs are ornamented with stucco-
work, and have in their centres oval-shaped oil paintings on allegorical subjects.
t Bolingbroke House was pulled down about the year 1775. The pictures were
sold by auction.
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scramble for power with a selfish, indifference to national security
hindered him from looking wisely and deeply into any question.
His philosophical theories are not profound, nor his conclusions
solid, while his criticism of passing history is worthless in the
extreme. He was one of those clever unscrupulous men, unhappily
too common, who forget that God has something to do with the
government of this world as well as themselves, and who in spite
of their ability, can never see that swift destruction treads like
Nemesis on the heels of those who dare to trifle with the interests
and destinies of a great people."
His opposition to. revealed religion drew from Johnson this
severe remark : " Having loaded a blunderbuss and pointed it
against Christianity he had not the courage to discharge it himself,
but left a half-crown to a hungry Scotchman to pull the trigger
after his death."
Oliver Goldsmith in his life of Lord Bolingbroke says: "In
whatever light we view his character, we shall find him an object
rather more proper for our wonder than our imitation ; more to be
feared than esteemed, and gaining our admiration without our love.
His ambition ever aimed at the summit of power, and nothing
seemed capable of satisfying his immoderate desires but the liberty
of governing all things without a rival."
On the site of the demolished part of Bolingbroke House,* a
horizontal Air Mill was erected in 1790, of a conical form, 140 feet
in height, and having a mean diameter of 50 feet ; it was 54 feet
at the base and 45 at the top. It was originally applied to the
grinding of linseed for oil, and subsequently by Messrs. Hodgson,
Weller and Allaway, of malt for the Distilleries, which were at
that time in extensive operation here. Mr. Thomas Fowler erected
this mill, the design was taken from that of another on a smaller
scale, constructed at Margate by Capt. Hooper. It consisted of
a circular wheel, with large boards or vanes fixed parallel to its
axis ; and upon the vanes the wind acted as to blow the wheel
round, one side of it being sheltered from the action of the wind
by its being enclosed in frame work, with doors or shutters to open
and admit the wind, or to shut and stop it. If all the shutters on
one side were open, whilst all those on the opposite were closed, the
wind acting with diminished force on the vanes of one side, whilst
the opposite vanes were under shelter, turned the mill round ; but
whenever the wind changed, the disposition of the blinds had to
be altered, to admit the wind to strike upon the vanes of the wheels
in the direction of a tangent to the circle in which they moved." —
Dr. Fartis Philosophy in Sport. "The Mill," says Mr. Timbs,
" resembled a gigantic packing case, which gave rise to an odd
story, that when the Emperor of Russia was in England in 1814,
he took a fancy to Battersea Church and determined to carry it off
to Russia, and had this large packing case made for it ; but as the
inhabitants refused to let the Church be carried away, so the case
remained on the spot where it was deposited." The Mill served as
a landmark for miles around, being more conspicuous an object at
that time than the lofty square tower of Watney's Distillery a little
further westward is now. At length the upper part of the Mill
* The part left standing formed a dwelling house for Mr. Hodgson.
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Vas taken down; the lower part is still used for grinding com.
Capper, referring to this Mill, says, "it had 96 shutters, which
though only 9 inches broad, reached to the height of 80 feet ; these
by means of a rope, opened and shut in the manner of Venetian
blinds. In the inside, the main shaft of the Mill was the centre of
a large circle formed by the sails, which consisted of 96 double
planks placed perpendicularly, and the same height as the shutters ;
through these shutters the wind passing turned the Mill with great
rapidity, which was increased or diminished by opening or shutting
the apertures. In it were six pairs of stones, in which two pair
more might be added. Adjacent were Bullock Houses capable of
holding 650 bullocks, which were fed with the grains and meal
from the Distilleries.
&*. Maby's Church*
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M. MART'S CHURCH forms an interesting object irom thfc
water. It was re-built by Act of Parliament passed 14 Geo. 3.
The former church, which was built of brick, was found to be in
such a dilapidated state that the Vestry deemed it more than
desirable to erect a new church than to enlarge and repair the old
one. Their unanimous resolution in this respect met with the
sanction of Earl Spencer ; his lordship in compliance with a petition
generously granted the petitioners in the year 1772 a piece of
ground, etc. for the enlargement of the church yard. During the
re-building of the church, divine service was conducted in the
tabernacle at the Workhouse. The cost of its erection was about
£5,000, which sum was raised by a brief by the sale of certain
pews for 99 years, by the sale of some estates or docks belonging
to the Parish, and by granting annuities on lives ; the leases expired
Michaelmas, 1876. It was opened for divine service November 17,
1777. The ground given by the Earl Spencer for the enlargement
of the church yard was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford,
on Wednesday, the 15th of April, 1778. The Church is built of
brick and has a tower with a conical copper' spire at the west end,
besides a clock and porch.f The belfry contains a set of eight bells,
which, in addition to their ordinary Sunday chimes, ring out their
merry peals on special occasions.
" Ring out the old year's evil,
The world, the flesh, the devil ;
Let them go ! let them go !
And ring in the Prince of Peace,
Messiah's gentle reign.
And let war and bloodshed cease,
And righteousness obtain.
Ring out the old year's crimes,
And ring in the new year's birth,—
Good words, good deeds, good times ;
Oh, were ever sweeter chimes
Rung on this fallen earth
Since creation's virgin anthem rang,
And morning stars together sang ?"
" Chime on, ye bells ! again begin,
And ring the Sabbath morning in."
Six of the old bells were in the Old Church but re-cast, and two
were added to them. Length of church, 88 feet ; breadth, 49 feet
3 inches. — Rev. Owen Manning, 8.T.B. In digging for the founda-
tion of the present structure was found an ancient coffin lid of
stone, on the top of which was a cross fleury. The Rev. Erskine
Clarke in an article headed " S. Mary's Church in the Last Century"
has furnished his parishioners with some interesting details
gathered from the Parish books respecting the re-building of the
Parish Church. He say: "It does not appear that our ancestors
were more expeditious in carrying on business of this nature than
we of the present day, as the first resolution to inquire into the
state of the old Church* was passed by the Vestry in December,
* There is a river view of Battersea by BoydeU, which shows the old Church as
it stood in 1752.
t An Entrance Portico of the Doric order was added to the Church about the
year 1823.
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1769, whereas the re-building was not finished till November, 1777.
The first suggestion was to sell a portion of Penge Common in
order to raise the money required, but it was afterwards found that
the condition of the church was so bad that the money raised by
this means would not be sufficient for the necessary repairs. On
March 1st, 1771, it was ordered by the Vestry that an extra
estimate be made of the needful repairs, allowing for " enlarge-
ment of the chancel to the north wall, to elevate the roof and make
galleries, and to raise the bottom of the church so high as five
inches from the present coming in, and that the Vicar and Church-
wardens wait upon Lord Spencer to get his sanction and assistance
for this, and to enlarge the church yard. On December 14, 1771,
it was resolved this Vestry is unanimously of opinion (there not
being one dissenting voice) that a new Church shall be built in this
Parish at an expense not exceeding £4,000 : the said sum to be
raised by annuities at the most advantageous rate ; and the interest
or annuity thereon to be i>aid b} r a rate not exceeding sixpence in
the pound. That twelve gentlemen be nominated to be a Committee
for carrying the above-named purposes into execution, and that the
following gentlemen be the said Committee with such others as
choose to attend, all having voices. Viz :
The Eevd. Mr. Fraigneau, Vicar.
Mr.' D?x on, S ' ) Churchwardens. phnip Worlidg6| Esqr#
Mr. Camden, ] 0veraGerg Mark BeU, Esqr.
Mr. Bremmer, } Uverseers « Thos. Bond, Esqr.
Isaac Akeman, Esqr. Thos. Misluor, Esqr.
Chrisr. Baldwin, Esqr. Philip Milloway, Esqr.
And that any five of them be a Committee to transact the business.
And that the said Committee may adjourn themselves from time to
time, to such place as they shall think proper and at their own
expense : and that the Vestry Clerk be ordered to attend the said.
Committee at all times of their meeting. In the following year we
find that the petition to Lord Spencer to present an additional
piece of ground was granted, for the following resolution is recorded
in the Parish Books on April 21st, 1772. 'That the Eev. Mr.
Fraigneau, Mr. Ehodes and Mr. Dixon do wait upon the Right
Hon. Earl Spencer on behalf of the Parish of Battersea, to return
his Lordship their hearty thanks for his noble and generous grant
of the houses and ground north and south of the present entrance
to the churchyard.' In March, 1773, apian prepared by Mr. Dixon
was laid before the Vestry, and it was unanimously resolved that
the said plan be carried into execution with all possible expedition,
and the expenses not to exceed £3,000. On March 1, 1774, it was
reported to the Vestry by the Church Committee that it would be
necessary to apply to Parliament for power to sell some estates
belonging to the Parish, and also forty pews in the new church in
order to procure necessary funds. From this time to the re-
opening of the Church there is no further reference to the restora-
tion except an order for the payment of £18 for ' alterations to the
Tabernacle at the Workhouse which was used for Divine Service
during the re-building of the Church.' The entire cost of the
Chuich was £4950 13s. 9-£d. The following entry is made in April,
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1778. Entered by order of the Eeverend Mr. 'William l?raigneau
(Vicar), Mark Bell and John Camden, Esquires, Churchwardens.
The new Church of Battersea Parish was opened for Divine Service
on Sunday, the 17th of November, 1777. The additional ground
for enlarging the church yard granted by Earl Spencer, was con-
secrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford, on Wednesday, the 15th of
April, 1778. Towards the end of the year 1778 we find the
inhabitants of Battersea developing a musical taste. A faculty was
applied for to erect an organ, the petitioners making their request
on the ground that an organ would be ' a decent and agreeable
addition and ornament to the Church.' The faculty was granted,
and an organ was erected at the west end of the gallery where the
present one now stands."— £<. Mary 1 8 Battersea Parish Magazine,
Nov. 1876. The organ has been removed to a place under the
gallery, adjacent to the choir, and the Church has been re-seated.
The following copy of one of these leases on which the pews in
St. Mary's Church were held, will be read with interest.
THIS INDENTURE made the Twenty-sixth day of December,
in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy
Eight, and in the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign
Lord George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain,
France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Between
the Reverend John Gardenor of Battersea, in the County of Surrey,
Clerk, Allyn Simmons Smith, John Camden and Thomas Rhodes,
all of the same place Esquires, and John Lumisden of the same,
Surgeon, (being five of the Trustees appointed for carrying into
execution an Act of Parliament made and passed in the fourteenth
year of the Reign of his present Majesty King George the Third,
Intituled an Act for Re-building the Parish Church of Battersea,
in the County of Surrey, and for enlarging the Church Yard of the
said Parish Church of the one part, and William Dent of Battersea
in the County of Surrey, Esquire, on the other part, Witnesseth
that for and in consideration of the sum of Thirty-one Pounds
Ten Shillings already paid and advanced by the said William Dent
to the Treasurer appointed for the purposes of the said Act of
Parliament, and also for and in consideration of the Yearly Rent
and Covenants hereinafter reserved and contained, they the said
John Gardenor, Allyn Simmons Smith, John Camden, Thomas
Rhodes, and John Lumisden, in persuance and in Execution of the
powers and Authorities vested in them in and by the said Act of
Parliament, have Leased, Lett and Demised, and by these presents,
do Lease, Lett and Demise unto the said William Dent, his
Executors, Administrators and Assigns, All that Pew situate and
being in the Gallery on the North side of the said Church of
Battersea, (No. 62), with the appertenances. To have and to hold
the said Pew, with the appertenances unto the said William Dent,
his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, from the Feast day of
Saint Michael the Archangel, which was in the Year of our Lord,
One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Seven, for and during,
and unto the full end and Term of Ninety Nine Years thence next
ensuing and fully to be complete and ended, Yealding and paying
therefore Yearly and every Year during the said Term, unto such
person or persons, who for the time being shall be lawfully
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appointed to collect or receive the same Rent or sum of IVo
Shillings and Sixpence of lawful money of Great Britain, on Hie
Feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, in every year. And tlie
said William Dent for himself, his Executors, Administrators, and
Assigns, doth Covenant and Agree to and with the said before
named Trustees, their Heirs and Assigns, That he the said William
Dent his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, shall and will
well and truly pay or cause to be paid the Rent hereby reserved
and made payable according to the reservation aforesaid, And also
at his and their own proper Costs and Charge, well and sufficiently
repair the said Pew so Leased to him, during all the said Term of
Ninety Nine Years, Provided always that if the said Yearly Rent
hereby reserved, or any part thereof shall be behind and unpaid
by the space of Three Calendar Months next over or after the said
Eeast day of payment, whereon the same ought to be paid as
aforesaid (being Lawfully demanded) then and in such case the
Demise or Lease hereby made shall cease, determine, and be utterly
void to all intents and purposes whatsoever. In witness whereof
the said parties to these presents have hereunder interchangeably
set their hands and seals, the day and Year first above Written.
Sealed and Delivered without stamp*,}
according to the Act of Parliament* Wit. HOLT,
above in the presence of: ) ROBT. CORAM.
J. GARDNOR,
ALLYN SIMMONS SMITH.
JOHN CAMDEN,
T. RHODES,
JOHN LUMISDEN.
The window over the Communion table at the east end of the
church is decorated with portraits of Henry 7th, his grandmother
Margaret Beauchamp and Queen Elizabeth in stained glass which
was carefully preserved from the former church, and executed at
the expense of the St. Johns.* The following will explain why the
three portraits were placed at the end of the Church. " The first,
* Here also in two circular windows pierced for additional light are figures of
the Holy Lamb and Dove of Modern Execution.
The east window consists of painted glass, over the portraits of Queen Eliza-
beth and Henry VII. are the Royal Arms in the central compartment, and on
each side, the arms and quarterings of the St. Johns. The portraits are likewise
surrounded with borders containing the arms of the families allied to them by
marriage. At the top is a white rose inclosed in a red, under the Crown. St.
John bears Arg. or a chief Gu. 2 Mullets or ; and Quarters : i Arg. A bend
Arg. Cotised between 6 Martlets or, for Delaberes. 2 Arg. a fesse between 6
Cinquefoils Gu. for Unfreville. 3 Erm. on a fesse Az 3 Crosses Moline or, 4 Gu.
a fesse between 6 Martlets or for Beauchamp. 5 Arg. a fesse Sa between 3
Cresents Gu. for Patishall. 6 Paly of 6 Arg. and Az on a bend Gu. 3 Eagles
displayed or. for Grandison. 7 Az 2 bars Gemelles, and in Chief a lion passant
for Tregoze. 8 Arg. a fesse Gu between 2 Mullets of 6 points Sali for Ewyas.
A Saltire Engrailed Sa. On a Chief of the Second 2 Mullets of the first, for
Iwarby or Ewarby, 10 or, 3 lions passant in Pale Sa. forCarew. 11 Az 3
Battleaxes Arg. 12 Sa. 2 bars Arg, in Chief, 3 plates for Hungerford, 13 per
Pale indented Gu. and Vert over all a Chevron or, 14 Arg. 3 Toads Sa for
Botreux. 15 Paly wavy or and Gu. all these are quarters on one shield with a
Viscount Coronet ; the 11 first are quartered by St* John, Baronet.
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that of Margaret Beauchamp, ancestor (by her first husband, Sir
Oliver St. John) of the St. John's, and (by her second husband,
John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset) grandmother to Henry VU. ;
the second, the portrait of that Monarch ; and the third, that of
Queen Elizabeth, which is placed here because her grandfather,
Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, (father of Queen Ann Boleyn),
was great-grandfather of Anne, the daughter of Sir Thomas
Leighton, and wife of Sir John St. John, the first baronet of the
family."— Oulton.
The epitaph written by Lord Bolingbroke on his wife reads as
follows: " In the same vault are interred the remains of Mary
Clara des Champs de Marcelly, Marchioness of Yillette and
Viscountess Bolingbroke, born of noble family, bred in the Court
of Lewes 14th. She reflected a lustre on the former by the superior
accomplishment of her mind. She was an ornament to the latter
by the amiable dignity and grace of her behaviour. She lived the
honour of her own sex, the delight and admiration of ours. She
died an object of imitation to both with all the firmness that reason,
with all the resignation that religion can inspire, aged 74 the 18th
of March, 1750."
The interior contains some interesting sepulchral monuments,
among which is one of Eoubiliac in the reliefs to the memory of
Viscount Bolingbroke and his second wife, niece of Madame de
Maintenon, both lie in the family vault in St. Mary's Church.
The epitaphs on himself and his wife were both written by Boling-
broke. That upon himself is still extant in his own hand writing
in the British Museum, and is as follows : — " Here lies Henry St.
John, in the reign of Queen Anne, Secretary of War, Secretary of
State and Viscount Bolingbroke ; in the days of King George I.
and King George II. something more and better. His attachment
to Queen Anne exposed him to a long and severe persecution ; he
bore it with firmness of mind, he passed the latter part of his life
at home, the enemy of no national party, the friend of no faction,
distinguished under the cloud of proscription, which had not been
entirety taken off by zeal to maintain the liberty and to restore the
ancient prosperity of Great Britain." Another monument com-
memorates the descent and preferments of Oliver St. John, Viscount
Grandison, who was the first of the family that settled at Battersea.
When studying the law at one of the Inn Courts, he killed in a
duel the Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth and Champion
of England. " In 1648, Sir John St. John was buried at Battersea
with such unusual pomp that the heralds were fluttered and com-
menced a prosecution against the Executor for acting contrary to
the usage of arms and the laws of heraldry. William Riley, one
of the heralds deposed 'that the funeral of the deceased' was
conducted in a manner so much above Iris degree that the escutch-
eons were more than were used at the funeral of a Duke ; and that
he never saw so many persons but at the funeral of one of the
blood royal.' This burial is omitted in the register." In the
south gallery is a monument to Sir Edward Wynter, an officer in
the service of the East India Company in the reign of Charles 2nd,
on which is recorded an account of his having singly and unarmed
killed a tiger, and on foot defeated forty Moors on horseback* He
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appears to have been a friendless youth but obtained his promotion
by virtue of his intelligence, courage and good conduct as the
epitaph states : —
" Born to be great in fortune as in mind,
Too great to be "within an Isle confind,
Young, helpless, friendless seas unknown he tried ;
But English courage all those wants supplied.
A pregnant "wit, a painful diligence,
Care to provide, a bounty to dispence,
Join'd to a soul sincere, plain, open, just,
Procur'd him friends, and friends procured him trust ;
These were his fortune's rise, and thus began
This hardy youth, rais'd to that happy man,
A rare example and unknown to most
Where wealth is gain'd and conscience is not lost.
Not less in martial honour was his name —
Witness his actions of immortal fame !
Alone, unarm'd a tiger* he oppress' d
And crush'd to death the monster of a beast ;
Twice twenty mounted Moors he overthrew
Singly on foot ; some wounded, some he slew,
Dispers'd the rest — what more could Samson do ?
True to his friends, a terror to his foes
Here now in peace his honour'd bones repose."
Vita Peregrinatio.
He died March 2nd, 1685-6, aged 64.
Near at hand is a monument — a small statue of a mourning
female leaning upon an urn — erected by the benevolent James
Neild, in memory of his wife Elizabeth, who died 30th of June,
1791, in her 36th year. The epitaph states : —
" Here low in beauteous form decay'd
My faithful wife, my love Eliza's laid ;
Graceful with ease, of sentiment refin'd,
Her pleasing form inclos'd the purest mind !
Eound her blest peace, thy constant vigils keep
And guard fair innocence her sacred sleep,
'Till the last trump shall wake the exulting clay.
To bloom and triumph in eternal day.
Conjux Mosrens Vomit.
And of her father, John Camden, Esq., whose son, John Camden
Neild, lived in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, and bequeathed to Queen
Victoria the whole of his property, £500,000.
At the east end of the north gallery is a beautiful marble monu-
ment most elaborately sculptured sacred to the memory of Sir John
Fleet, Knt., Alderman of the City of London. He was unani-
mously elected Lord Mayor of the City in 1693. He received
Royal favours, and all ranks of the greatest honour and esteem
from his fellow citizens, having been one of their representatives
in Parliment thirteen years, and constantly interested in their
* Being attacked in the woods^by a tiger, he placed himself on' the side of a
pond, and when the tiger flew at him, he caught him in his arms, fell back with
him into the water, got upon him, and kept him down till he had drowned him.
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TA
highest stations, in which offices and honours he was universally
applauded. He was a merchant and just magistrate, constant to
church, loyal to his Prince, and true to his country. He was
fortunate and honest, bountiful in charity a generous benefactor
and .a faithful friend.— Obit Q : Julii 1712. JEtat : 65.
Another tablet is erected to the memory of Margaret Susanna
Pounsett, wife of Henry Pounsett, Esq., of Stockwell, in this
County, and eldest daughter of Eichard Both well, Esq., of this
Parish ; Alderman of the City of London and High Sheriff of the
County of Middlesex: she died on the 22nd day of March, 1820,
in the 82nd year of her age, leaving two sons and three daughters.
Her numerous amiable and exemplary qualities, endeared her to
her family in her life — Her christian piety and cheerful resignation
alone consoled them in her death. Also of Ellen Anne Pounsett,
her second daughter, who died the 7th of December, 1834, aged 22.
In the west gallery is a marble tablet sacred to the memory of
Richard Eothwell, Esq., Alderman and formerly High Sheriff of
the City of London, and County of Middlesex ; who departed this
life most deeply regretted, July 26th, a.d. 1821, in the 60th year
of his age. In the public station which he filled of Magistrate and
Sheriff, his strict integrity, his splendid liberality, and his genuine
philanthropy, justly merited and procured the highest esteem, and
warmest approbation of his fellow citizens. In his private character
he was respected for the vigor of his mind, the solidity of his
judgment, and the uprightness of his principles, and beloved for
the urbanity of his manners, and the benevolence of his heart. In
him the perplexed found an able counsellor, and the distressed an
active friend. His feelings were tenderly alive to the important
truths of religion, and while punctual in the performance of the
duties of this life he placed his sole reliance on the merits of his
Eedeemer for happiness in the life to come.
On the right-hand-side of the pathway leading towards the porch
of the Church is a grave stone at the bottom of which is the following
inscription: — "Mrs. Sarah Eleanor McFarlane, who fell by the
hand of an assassin the 29th of April, 1844, aged 46 years."
This poor widow resided in Bridge Eoad, and obtained a sub-
sistence by keeping a Day and Sunday School. The name of the
murderer who deprived the life of his victim by cutting her throat
on Old Battersea Bridge, was Augustus Dalmas, a Frenchman.
This horrid crime was committed late at night. The woman who
had charge of the toll seeing the helpless condition of Mrs.
McFarlane conveyed her to the *' Swan and Magpie" Tavern at the
foot of the Bridge, where she expired exclaiming "Dalmas did it!"
In the north gallery is an upright marble tablet for Sir Womb-
well, Bart., of Sherwood Lodge, who died October 28th, 1846, in
his 77th year.
At the east end of the south aisle is a tablet to Thomas Astle,
Esq., F.S.A., keeper of the records in the Tower, and who wrote
on " The Origin and Progress of Writing." He left a valuable
collection of manuscripts which were deposited at Stow, the seat of
his noble patron the Marquis of Buckingham, to whom he gav,e by
his will the option of purchasing them at a fixed sum.
In the churchyard lies Arthur Collins, author of " The Peerage
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fend Baronetage of England." His grandson, David Collins,
Lieutenant Governor of ifew South "Wales, and author of a History
of the English Settlement there. William Curtis a distinguished
botanical writer, author of the "Flora Londinensis," was buried
here, January 31, 1731.
" While living herbs shall spring profusely wild,
So long thy works shall please dear nature's child,
Or gardens cherish all that's sweet and gay
So long thy memory suffer no decay."
The- Countess de Morella, who lived in one of the five mansions
which gave its old name of Five House Lane to Boliogbroke Grove,
has placed a coped stone with a cross on it over the old grave of her
aunt Miss Elizabeth Hofer, in the church yard near the mortuary,
and has had the tablets of her family at the west end of the north
gallery cleaned.
Mr. Poole, the Curator of the monuments in Westminster Abbey,
is now engaged in cleaning some of the mural monuments in the
Church which had become grimed with the dust of years.
In the centre of the plot in front of the portico is the family
vault of Sir Eupert George, Bart. Mr. Chadwin, one of the oldest
parishioners now living in Battersea, relates how Sir Rupert George
came to select St. Mary's Church yard as his burying place. " He
was on a visit to Lord Cremorne, at Cremorne House, on the
opposite side of the Thames, and he came over to Battersea and
was so impressed with the beauty of the view across the river that
he purchased the vault as a resting place for himself and his family.
Several of his sons and daughters are interred there, and Dr.
Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia, the first Colonial Bishop, was also
buried in the vault of Sir Rupert George, to whom he was fondly
attached by the strongest ties of friendship and also closely allied
by marriage." The Bishop's tablet is on the wall under the north
gallery.
Charles Williams of London was an actor of some eminence at
the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He died in the prime of life. His
mortal remains were interred in the church yard. As a tribute of
respect his funeral was attended by the whole body of Comedians ;
the pall was supported by Wilks, Griffin, the two Cibbers, and the
two Mills. " There is " says Daniel Lysons, " no memorial of his
grave."
It is thought that as the former Church was built of brick that
probably it was not very ancient. A church is mentioned in
Doomsday, a most ancient record, made in the time of William 1st,
surnamed the Conqueror, and containing a survey of all the lands
in England. Lysons, from whom we take the liberty of making
some liberal quotations, when writing about 85 years ago, says,
"The Church of Battersea is dedicated to St. Mary ; it is in the
Diocese of Winchester, and in the Deanery of South wark, the
benefice is a Yicarage. Lawrence, Abbot of Westminster, first
procured the appropriation of the great tithes for that Abbey about
the year 1156. The monks of Westminster were to receive out of
it two marks, reserving sufficient to the Yicar to support the
Episcopal burdens and himself. The Rectory was held by John
Bishop of Winchester in the time of Philip and Mary. The
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^principal profits of the Vicarage accrued from tlie gardens,
which rendered the living one of the most valuable in the neigh-
bourhood of London. The gardeners at Battersea paid 7s. 6d. an
acre for tithes to the Vicar. The living of Battersea is dated in
the King's Book at £13 15s. 2£d." The present living is estimated
at about £1,000 with residence. " In the Valor of 1291, usually
termed Pope Nicholas' Taxation, the Rectory is valued at 26 marks
and a half: the Vicarage at £4 3s. 4d. In 1658 the Rectory was
stated as worth £80 a year, and the Vicarage at £100, and in the
King's Book the Vicarage stands at £13 15s. 2£d. Battersea was
one of those parishes which in memory of the Abbey dedicated to St.
Peter, presented to the Abbot and Convent in early times, the
tithes of salmon taken in this portion of the river. The Incum-
bents however of Chelsea, Battersea, and Wandsworth endeavoured
to shake this custom off as long ago as 1231, but failed : the com-
position entered into upon the occasion may be seen in Dart's
History of Westminster Abbey. — Ecclesiastical Topography.
" There are two terriers of Battersea in the register of Winchester
fastened together of the dates of 1619 and 1636."— DucareVs
Endowments of Vicarages, (Lambeth Library). " Owen Ridley, who
was instutuled to the Vicarage of Battersea, A.D. 1570, appears to
have been involved in a tedious litigation with his parishioners
and to have encountered no small degree of persecution from them.
The circumstance would not have been worth recording but for two
curious petitions which it produced, the originals of which (date of
both 1593) were in the possession of the Rev. John Gardenor,
Vicar," by whom, (says Lysons) they have been obligingly com-
municated. One of these is from certain inhabitants to Dr. Swale,
one of Her Majesty's High Commissioners for crimes Ecclesiastical;
in which they state many grievances which they suffered from their
Vicar during the space of eighteen years. Amongst other crimes
alleged against him is that of conversing with a Witch. The
object of their petition was, that he might be deprived. It is
signed with thirteen names and about thirty marks. The other
petition, which is to Lord Burleigh, being the more curious of the
two is here given at large. To the Right Honourable the Lord Burleigh,
Lord High Treasurer of England. Most humbly sheweth unto your
honor, your daiely orators, the inhabitants of Battersey, besechinge
you to extend your favor in all just causes to our mynister Mi\
Ridley : (so it is right honorable) that some have sought his de-
privation, by many trobles many years together, and in divers
courts sometymes in the Archdeacon's, sometymes by complayninge
to the busshop, sometymes before the highe Commissioners, some-
tymes before the Archbusshop of Canterbury, his grace : Yea and
once he hath benedicted at the assizes. But God the defender of
the innocent, hath so protected him that his cawse beinge tryed and
knowene he hath hadd a good issue of all theis trobles ; yet the
adversarie will not cease, but seeketh to deprive him of his life,
for seekinge after Witches, and procuringe the death of a man by
Witchcraft. He hath byn our Vicar theis twenty years: he is
zealous in the gospell, honest in life, painefull to teache us and to
catechise our youth ; charitable and liberall to the poore and needy
accordinge to his ability, he never sued any of all his parisheoners
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for tythes, althoughe lie hath hadd cawse gyven "by some so to doe*.
Of our conscience wee take him rather to hate wytches, than to
seeke after them ; for he hath spoken often very bitterly against
them out of the bible, neither doe we thinke or suspect the woman
to be a witche which is accused, but hath always lyved honestly,
quietly and painefully here, to get a poore lyvinge truly. There-
for the man being such a one, whom for his virtues wee love, his
trobles heretofore so greate, so many and so chandgable to the
undoinge of himself, his wife and children, and now eo daingerous
for the hope of his life, doth move us to become suitors unto your
honour for him, besechinge your honor to take notice, and to make
due triall of him and his cawse, so that the truth being f ownd owte,
justice maie take place ; Your honor will defend the innocent in his
innocencee, putt an end to his tonge, many wearisome and dainger-
ous trobles and be a patrone unto him in all his good and honest
actions ; so shall we be bound to thancke God for you, and pray
for you for ever. Signed by Robert Cooke Alias Clarencieulx
Roy d* Amies, Robert Claye, preacher, and fourteen others."
" Dr. Thomas Temple, brother of Sir John Temple, the Irish
Master of the Rolls, was instituted to the Yicarage of Battersea in
1634, and continued there during the civil wars ; he was one of the
ministers appointed by Cromwell to assist the Committee for dis-
placing ignorant and insufficient School Masters and Ministers.
He was likewise one of the Assembly of Divines and a frequent
preacher before the long Parliament. Several of his sermons are
in print. Mr. Temple was succeeded in the Yicarage of Battersea
by the learned Bishop Patrick, who was educated at Queen's
College, Cambridge, and was domestic Chaplain to Sir Walter St.
John, by whom he was presented to this benefice. Several of his
tracts were published while he was Vicar of Battersea and are
dedicated to his patron. He resigned the Vicarage in 1675. He
was a zealous champion of the protestant religion, both by his
writings and in conversation, particularly at a conference which he,
in conjunction with Dr. Jane, held in the presence of James the
Second with two Roman Catholic Priests, in which he had so much
the superiority over his opponents in argument, that the King*
retired in disgust, saying that he never heard a good cause so ill
defended or a bad one so well. At the Revolution he was rewarded
with the Bishopric of Chichester, and was afterwards translated to
Ely. He died 1707, and left behind him a numerous collection of
printed works ; consisting of sermons, devotional and controversial
tracts and paraphrases on the Scriptures, which are held in great
estimation and which were continued by William South."
" Dr. Thomas Church, of Brazen Nose College, Oxford, who was
instituted to the Vicarage of Battersea in the year 1740, distinguished
himself much in the held of controversy in which he engaged
against Westley and Whitfield, and Middleton : for his successful
attacks on the latter and his defence of the miraculous power
during the early years of Christianity. The University of Oxford
gave him the degree of D.D. by diploma. He was too zealously
attached to his religion to let the opinions of Lord Bolingbroke
pass unnoticed notwithstanding he had been his patron. His
publication on this subject however was anonymous, it was called
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* An Analysis of the Philosophical Works by the late Lord Boling-
broke,' and came out in 1755. He died in 1756, aged 49."
"The registers of this parish begin in the year 1559, and ex-
cepting the former part of the 18th century appear to be accurate.
Dr. Church soon after he was instituted to the Vicarage began to
transcribe a considerable part of the registers, ^hich for many
years proceeding had been kept by a very ignorant parish clerk.
He proceeded so far as to copy the whole of the baptisms, and with
great industry rectified a vast number of mistakes and supplied
many deficiencies; the difficulty of transcribing the burials of
which indeed for some years there were no notices, discouraged him
from proceeding any further in this laudable undertaking." — Lysom.
Cases of longevity in the Parish Eegister : Goody Harleton,
aged 108 years, buried 1703 ; William Abbot, 101, 1733 ; Wiat,
100, 1790; and William Douse, 100, 1803. The case of Eebecca,
wife of Richard Harding, a waterman, is mentioned. She gave
birth to four children, she died in labour of the fourth child, which
was still-born. The mother was buried February 8, 1730; her
three infant children, Mary, Sarah, and Eebecca were buried the
2nd of March following. Respecting the rate of mortality in London
during the plague years, in the year 1603, 30,578 persons died of the
plague. At the accession of Charles I. in 1625, another dreadful
pestilence raged in London, which carried off 35,417 persons. In
the year 1665, about the beginning of May, there broke out in
London the most dreadful plague that ever infested this kingdom,
which swept away 68,596 persons, which added to the number of
those who died of other distempers, raised the bill of mortality in
this year to 97,306. And the mortality raged so violently in July,
that all houses were shut up, the streets, deserted, and scarce any-
thing to be seen therein but grass growing, innumerable fires for
purifying the air, coffins, pest-carts, red crosses upon doors, with
the inscription, ' Lord have mercy upon us,' and continual cries
of ' pray for us ;' or the melancholy call of ' bring out your dead.'
The cause of this terrible calamity was ascribed to the importation
of infected goods from Holland where the plague had committed
great ravages the preceding year. During the whole time of its
continuance there was a great calm, for weeks together there
was scarcely any wind so that it was with difficulty that the fires
in the streets could be kept burning for want of a supply of air,
and even the birds panted for breath. The plague as is generally
agreed is never bred or propagated in Britain, but always im-
ported from abroad^ especially from the Levant, "Lesser Asia, Egypt,
etc. Sydenham, an old writer, has remarked ihat it rarely infects
this country offcener than once in forty years — thank God we have
happily been free from it for a much longer period. There have
been various conjectures as to the nature of this dreadful distemper.
Some think that insects are the cause of it, in the same way that
they are the cause of blights. Mr. Boyle thought that it originated
from the effluvia or exhalations breathed into the atmosphere from
noxious minerals to which might be added stagnant waters and
putrid bodies of every kind. Gibbon, in his " Roman History, 4th
Edition, Vol. IV, p. 327-332, gives a very particular account of the
plague which depopulated the earth in the time of Emperor
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fc*
Justinian. He thinks that the plague was derived from damp, hot
and stagnating air, and the putnfaction of animal substances,
especially locusts. The Mohometans believe that the plague pro-
ceeds frdm certain spirits, or goblins, armed with bows and arrows
sent by God to punish men for their sins ; and that when the
wounds are given by spectres of a black colour, they certainly prove
fatal, but not so when the arrows are shot by those that appear
white. The learned Dr. Chandler, who travelled in Asia Minor,
was of the opinion that the disease arose from animalcules which
he supposed to be invisible.
The three ) ^ 1603 *^ e num ^ er °^ deaths in Battersea was 22
Plague years. J ;; Jg £g
Average of Births with Burials : —
1580—1589 - Births 13 - Burials 7
1680—1689 - „ 58 „ 68
1780—1789 - „ 60 „ 69
In 1876 the number of births in Battersea Parish was 3459, and
the number of deaths 1751, not including the Hamlet of Penge.
The subjoined is copied from " St. Mary's Battersea Parish
Magazine" for November, 1875. " Vicars of Battersea from Olden
Times. The following extract from ' A History and Antiquities of
Surrey, ' begun by the Rev. Owen Manning, enlarged and continued
to the year 1814 by William Bray, Esq., printed for White,
Cochrane & Co., at Horace's Head, Fleet Street, will be of interest.
ditto
ditto
61
113
Pateon.
Abbot and Convent
of Westminster
Abbot and Convent
of Westminster
The King (the tern-)
poralities of thef
Abbey being in his f
hands )
Abbot and Convent )
of Westminster J
VlCAB.
Thomas de Sunbury
William Trencheuent
Gilbert de Swalelyve
Richard Condray
Thomas at Strete de
Cadyngton
Elias de Hoggenorton
Eichard de Wolword
William Handley
John Gelle
William Bakere
John Colyn
Henry Green
Henry Walyngf ord
John Berewyk
Richard Gatyn
William Comelond
John Smyth
Henry Oxyn
Institution.
13 Nov. 1301
. . 21 Nov. 1806
.. 26 Oct. 1320
11 Dec. 1825
| 20 April 1328
. . 10 Aug. 1330
9 Dec. 1331
. . 26 Nov. 1366
. . Resigned, 1370
. • 8 Feb. 1370-1
5 Oct. 1378
31 Oct. 1383
Resigned, 1394
22 Oct. 1394
12 May 1402
Died, 1413
25 Aug. 1413
Resigned, 1457
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Patbon.
Abbot and Convent
of Westminster
Queen Elizabeth
Sir John St. John, Bart.
Sir Walter St. John. .
Lord St. John
Henry Viscount
John
Frederick Lord
Bolingbroke
St.
57
VlCAB.
John Moreys
Thomas Huntyngton
John Heron
Nicholas Townley
Christopher Wylson
Eichard Rosse, L.L.D.
John Edwyn
Thomas Mynthorne
William Gray
Owen Ridley
Thomas Temple, B.D.
Simon Patrick, D.D. f
Gervase Howe, M.A.
Nathaniel Gower
George Osborn
Thomas Church, D.D. ,
Institution.
30 Sept. 1457
5 Nov. 1485
20 April 1487
Resigned
18 Feb. 1523-4
9 Mar. 1523-4
16 May 1530
18 Nov. 1560
5 Jan. 1561
10 Mar. 1561-2
21 June 1571
21 Nov. 1634
1658
22 Mar. 1675-6
20 Oct. 1701
4 Oct. 1727
10 Mar. 1739-40
18 June 1757
Lilly Butler
.. William Fraigneau .. 18 Mar. 1758
„ . . John Gardenor % . . Oct. 1778
( Joseph Allen,M.A.,Pre- ) 20 j an ^^ 8
" ( bendary of Westminster j
The Crown § . . 'Robert Eden, M.A., . . 1 Feb. 1835
„ ,. John Simon Jenkinson, M.A. 20 June 1847
Earl Spencer . . John Erskine Clarke, M.A. 2 Feb. 1872
The Registers of 1345, 1366, 1415, 1446, 1492, and 1500 are lost.
In the reign of Henry VI. Thomas Lord Stanley held possession
of a valuable estate in Battersea, which, in order to prevent its con-
fiscation at that troublesome period, he had conveyed to trustees for
the benefit of himself and that of Thomas his son and heir. In
December, 1460, the property was transferred by the Trustees to
Lawrence Booth, Bishop of Durham, and his heirs, and in the year
following the grant was confirmed by the two Stanleys. The futility
of this transfer was obvious for before Edward IV. had reigned
eleven years the estate had escheated to the Crown " in consequence
of the action of John Stanley, who assigned the lands and tenements
in trust to the Abbot of Westminster, in contravention of the
statute of Mortmain. The Bishop therefore had to apply to the
King and on payment of £700 he obtained a grant under Letters
Patent dated July 10th, 1472, of the property forfeited by John
Stanley."
Lawrence Booth was made Bishop of Durham in 1457, he built
t The famous Bishop of Ely.
X He was many years a constant exhibitor at the Royal Academy. In 1788 he
published a set of Views on the Rhine. In 1798 was printed a Sermon preached
by him before the Armed Association of Battersea.
$ The Patronage lapsed to the Crown, Dr. Allen having been appointed Bishop
of Ely, and Dr. Eden, better known as Lord Auckland, Bishop of Sodor and
Man,
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58
a Mansion Brygge Court at Battersea, and "by the King's license
enclosed with walls and towers imparked his land there, with the
right of warren and free chase therein. In 1476 he was translated
to the See of York. He died in 1480 and bequeathed this property
to the Dean and Chapter of York as an occasional residence when
the Archbishop visited London. The name of York Road per-
petuates this ancient occupancy. One of the few prelates who
resided here was Archbishop Holgate who was committed to the
Tower by Queen Mary in 1553 for being a married man, and lost
much property by illegal seizure. Strype, in his life of Cranmer,
relates that the officers who were sent to apprehend the Archbishop
rifled his house at Battersea and took away from thence £300
worth of gold coin ; 1,600 ounces of plate ; a mitre of fine gold set
with very fine diamonds, sapphires, and balists ; other good stones
and pearls ; some very valuable rings, and the Archbishop's seal
in silver ; and his signet, an antique in gold. It is contended that
Wolsey resided at York House, Battersea, where he was introduced
to Anne Boleyne though the interview is more commonly believed
to have taken place at York House, Whitehall ; but Shakespere in
his plays makes the King come by water, and York House, Batter-
sea, was a residence of Wolsey and provided with a creek from the
Thames for approach to the house. Sir Edward Wynter is said to
have resided at York House, whose exploits surpassed even the
heroic achievements of Lord Herbert Cherbury, who, alone in his
shirt chased a host of midnight robbers from his house. Sir
Edward Wynter's exploits have been already mentioned. The
Mansion House was considerably altered by Joseph Benwell, Esq.,
the occupier who took down many of the old rooms. One of these
called the painted chamber had a dome ceiling and is said to have
been the room in which Wolsey entertained Henry VIII. with
masquerades, and in which he saw Anne Boleyne. When the floor
was removed there was found under it a chased gold ring on the
side of which was inscribed "Thy virtue is thy honour." This
superbly painted room with a dome forms the back ground of an
ancient print representing the first interview of Henry VIH. with
Anne Boleyne.
There was also another large building in 1818 standing parallel
with York House but nearer the river divided into two houses, then
in the possesion of F. Alver and H. Tritton, Esqrs., and noted for
having a very fine terrace in front next the Thames.
The art of transfer-printing produced from copper-plate im-
pressions is said to have been made at Liverpool ; but Mr. Binns,
E.S.A., in his very interesting History of Worcester ware traces
the claim of transfer-printing to the Battersea Enamel Works at
York House, (the Archbishop's old palace) where Ravenet and
other artists wrought in engraving plates from which impressions
were taken on enamel plaques, ptc, for snuff-boxes and other
articles. The Liverpool claim to the invention dates from 1756.
Whereas Horace Walpole writes from Strawberry Hill, six or seven
miles from Battersea, to R. Bently, September 18th, 1755 ; " I shall
send you a trifling snuff-box only as a sample of the new manu-
facture at Battersea which is done with Copper plaits" The
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59
Battersea Porcelain* Works failed and Alderman Jansen's stock,
furniture, etc., were sold by public auction, March 4, 1756. The
Battersea and Chelsea wares being rarities are expensive, particularly
the former. A writer in the " Athenaeum" thinks it probable that
some of the Battersea workmen found their way to Worcester and
Liverpool.
The public may see some beautiful as well as curious specimens
of Battersea enamel exhibited at Kensington Museum, lent by the
Hon. W. F. B. Massey, Mainwaring. Also some bought at Mrs.
Haliburton's sale. Battersea enamel 1750-60. Blue and gold,
C\ and gold candle-sticks, snuff-boxes, scent-bottles, needle-cases,
die for a cane, tray (circular) from Dulparry with floral me-
dallions, tuzza, Bulton's hunting subjects in brown transfer, thimble
cases, etui with implements. Battersea enamel portrait on copper,
a gentleman in armour wearing the garter, etc., etc.
Jens Wolfe, Esq., who was Danish Consul to this country, had a
seat at Battersea called Sherwood Lodge. He built a gallery 76
feet long by 25, and 30 in height in the most correct style of doric
architecture for the reception of plaster casts purposely taken for
this collection from the most celebrated antique statues. The most
remarkable of these were those from the Fighting Gladiator and the
Niobe, the Barberini Faun, the Dying Gladiator and the Farnese
Hercules. The mansion was pleasantly situated and beautifully
shaded with poplar, lime, and sycamore trees. It was the residence
of Mrs. Fitz Herbert. Sir George Womb well chose it as his seat
and resided in it about fourteen years. Subsequently Sir Edward
Hyde East dwelt here. The stable belonging to Sherwood Lodge
still remains, also the old wooden-cased pump with leaden spout.
On the site where stood York House, Tudor Lodge, and Sherwood
House, stands a great hive of industry known as Belmont Works or
Price's Patent Candle Factory. Price's Patent Candle Company
(as a private Arm) was among the earliest to apply in commercial
enterprise the discoveries of Chevreul, and has continued to hold the
first place among candle manufacturers in Great Britain ; and not*
withstanding the manufacture of gas, the importation of American
oils and the many competitors for supplying light-giving material
this Company makes its way by dexterity between them. At the
present time the store room of the Belmont Factory actually con-
tains candles of about 240 different kinds. Until Chevreul had
begun his scientific investigations in 1811, oils and fats had been
regarded as simple organic substances. On the complete publication
of his discoveries in 1 823, the complex character of these bodies
became extensively known. In 1829 the plan of separating cocoa*
nut oil into its solid and liquid components by pressure, was in that •
year patented by Mr. James Soames of London ; this patent was
purchased by Mr. William Wilson and his partner, who, trading
upon it under the title of E. Price & Co., perfected it as to manu-
♦In 15 1 8 the Portuguese obtained their settlement at Macao, and through them
Europe obtained its first specimen of china ware. " And because the cowrie
shells which represented Onental money, resembled as they thought, the backs
of little pigs, they called them porcellana ; and because the transparent .and
beautiful texture of china ware resembled that of the delicate cowrie shell, the
same name was applied to it ; whence we get, it is said, our English designation—
porcelain." — Sc* Morratfs History of Pottery.
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no
faotuxing detaili. In 18*1
the candle manufacture in
England was set free from
the excise supervision to
which it had been previous-
ly subj ected. From that date
then its progress became
possible. After a time, in
order to carry out suce&s-
fully certain enterprises
which required more capital
g than the Company had at
2 their command, Mr. Wil-
§ son* s partn er sold his share
& in the beginning of 1835
^ to three capitalists. With
3 these gentlemen as sleep-
£ ing partners and with the
^ aid of two of his sons, Mr.
o Wilson continued under the
£ name of Edward Price &
m Co. to carry on the concern
g until it passed in 1847 into
o the hands of Price's Patent
g Candle Company, with a
a capital of £500.000 ; of this
§ Company Mr. Wm. Wilson
^ became the first Chairman,
>T and his sons, Mr. James P.
5 Wilson and. Mr. George F.
cjj Wilson, the two Manu-
g facturing Directors. It is
interesting to notice that
g in the year 1 840, while Mr.
k J. P. Wilson was en-
deavouring to produce a
cheap self-snuffing candle
for the coming illumination
5 in honour of the marriage
P* of Her Majesty Queen
j° Victoria, then about to
o take place, succeeded in
°j making such candles of a
mixture of equal parts of
stearic acid and cocoa-nut
stearine, they gave a bril-
liant light and required no
snuffing. These candles
came rapidly into notice,
they were named "Compo-
site" because of the mixture
in them. Africa supplies
» . the palm-oil . which was.
hitherto used almost en-
<
•
m
tirelyfor soap-making. The imports of palm-oil into" England,
which amounted to about 9,800 tons in 1840, have for many years
past exceeded 40,000 tons annually, and averaged 50,000 tons in
1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874. This increase of importation is un-
doubtedly due in very great part to the use of oil in the manufacture
of candles ; and it is this trade which presents to the African chief ^
and kings along the West Coast the motive that they can best
understand for the abandonment of the slave-trade, they learn in
fact, that their subjects are of more value to their rulers when
collecting palm-oil than by being sold into slavery. The cocoa-nut
oil brought from Ceylon is largely used in the factory. The palm-
oil from the Coast of Africa being converted by chemical processes
into stearine, is freed from oleic acid by enormous pressure, is
liquefied by steam, and then conveyed into the moulding machinery,
by which 800 miles of wicks are continually being converted into
candles. Among the earlier operations of the new Company was
the acquirement in 1848 of the Night-Light Patent held by Mr.
Q. M. Clarke, and in 1849 of the • Night-Light business of Mr.
Samuel Childs, and the erection of a new factory for the purpose
of carrying on this new branch of manufacture on an extensive
scale. In 1875 no less than 32 J millions of new lights were sold
by the Candle Company. Geology informs us that in the age of
the coal formation a great part of the earth's surface was covered
by a dense and tangled vegetation composed mainly of flowerless
plants growing with wonderful luxuriance in the warm damp
atmosphere which must then have pre vailed — the masses of vegetable
matter — the decay of gigantic ferns sinking into the boggy soil
formed peat which as ages rolled on became converted by heat and
pressure into coal. The conditions of the earth now are so different to
what they were at that geological period that we are unable to state/,
with certainty how long the process must have taken to form the
ancient beds of lignite (mineral coal retaining the texture of the
wood from which it was formed) and brown coal, and the still more
ancient beds, or seams of true coal. From these paraffme is ex-
tracted by ch emical processes — it is the chief material in the Golden
Medal Palmitine Candles (the name given to the candles in consquence
of the award to the Company at the Paris Exhibition, 1867, and
other products — the name " Palmitine" having been giyen to them
because of the presence of a beautifully pure white steUrine obtained
'from palm-pil) > The paraffiae thus procured * by a process of
distillation yields at the same time a liquid .product affording under
the name of coal oil, or petrolium, one of the cheapest of the
Company's light-giving materials. Price's Glycerine has obtained
a world- w^de .reputation for its purity — much of it is manufactured
from palm-oil. . It was in the Company's factory that pure glycerine
was first produeed. The total of raw materials brought into work
by the Oetapaay in 1877 amounted to nearly 16,000 tons. The
produce in the same year was as follows; — •
Candles of all kinds ,.* M 147,000,000
Night-lights '*.. ., /.. 32,000,000
Oils for Lamps, Machinery and Wool-
working . . . . . . gals. 990,000
Household and Toilet Soaps . . •• cwts. 38,000
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Stearine and Candle-material sold in bulk, cwte. 1 6,000
Glycerine of various qualities . . . . „ 3,500
The year's produce of candles named above would suffice to give
the continuous light of one candle during about 84,000 years. The
Night-lights would in like manner give the continuous light of one
Night-light during about 25,000 years. In 1853 the Company took
a step of much importance. Liverpool being then as now, the
place of arrival of the largest importation of palm-oil, it was felt
to be desirable that the Company should have in or near it a second
factory, prepared to manufacture this material where it could be
purchased without cost of land carriage. The capital of the
Company was therefore increased and an estate of about 60 acres
was purchased at Brom borough Pool, near Liverpool, on which was
erected the second factory with cottages. The factory village
numbers 97 houses with a population of 530. It has its own place
of worship, schools, co-operative stores, rifle corps, and all the
organization of a model village. At present this factory employs
about 320 operatives. The London Works (Battersea) occupy an
area of about 13 J acres, those at Bromborough occupy 7 acres. The
buildings are all roofed with corrugated iron so as to reduco
inflammable material to a minimum. The area covered by the
roofs is a large one, as the buildings again, with a view to safety
from Are have generally no upper floor. This area amounts to
nine acres lor the two factories. The operatives number about
1,300, nearly 1,000 of whom are employed at Battersea. Connected
with each factory is a mess-room in which the work-people can
either purchase their food from the Co-operative Society established
among themselves, or can have their own provisions cooked for
them. At each factory a brief devotional service is conducted every
morning. Each factory has its reading room and library; each
maintains a corps of rifle volunteers (the two establishments
together providing about 300 efficient riflemen), and each during
the winter has its evening school for boys employed in the Works.
Bromborough enjoys an excellent recreation ground and set of
allotment gardens, but the growth of buildings about London has
precluded the London operatives from having these privileges.
I)uring the winter months, lectures and science and art classes
offer amusement and instruction to those who desire one or the
other. In each factory a medical officer pays a daily visit, and
attends to all who may be ailing ; a weekly payment of one penny
from each man and a half-penny from each boy being required in
return for this privilege. On the whole this is one of the best
regulated Arms in the Metropolis.
Mr. James Pillans Wilson, Consulting Adviser.
„ John Calderwood, General Manager,
„ W. H. Withall, Secretary.
„ Kingston George Woodham, Superintendent
„ S. J. Boberts, Chief Engineer.
„ G. Chhds, Superintendent flight-Light, Department.
„ J. Dayj Superintendent Bromborough Pool Works,
near Birkenhead.*
♦The writer has had the privilege of consulting a pamphlet entitled " A Brief
History of Price's Paten; Candle Company (Limited;," printed by Spottiswoode
&l Co., New Street Square, London, 1876. For private circulation only.
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Though hour-glasses were invented at Alexandria b.o. 149, and
water-clocks about the same period, yet it does not appear that
hour-glasses and clepsydras or water-clocks were known in
England during the reign of Alfred the Great. Sun dials might
be, but were of no use from eve to morn and when the days were
sunless. In order to allot certain portions of time to particular
objects, eight hours to sleep, meals and exercise, eight to the affairs
of government, and eight to study and devotion, Alfred contrived
the expedient of having wax candles made of equal weight and
twelve inches in length, with marks upon them at regular distances.
The combustion of one candle lasted four hours, and each inter-
mediate part, an inch in distance, denoted a period of twenty minutes.
Six of these candles lasted twenty-four hours. The duty of tending
these candles was entrusted to one of Alfred's domestic Chaplains
who had to give the Monarch notice of their working. As currents
of air rushed through the unglazed windows and clunks in the walls
of the Royal residence as to render the combustion irregular and
the register inaccurate, the ingenious King surrounded the candles
with horn mwI wooden frames to make thoni burn steudilv in all
weathers.
It was a custom in olden time to conduct a sale or auction by
inch of candle, A small piece of candle being lighted the by-
standers were allowed to bid for the merchandize that was offered
for sale — the moment the candle went out the commodity was
adjudged to the last bidder.
There was also excommunication by inch of candle, when the
sinner was allowed to come to repentance while a candle continued
to burn ; but after it was consumed he remained excommunicated
to all intents and purposes.
CANDLEMAS, a feast of the Romish Church, celebrated on the
2nd of February, in honour of the purification of the Virgin Mary.
It is borrowed from the practice of the ancient Christians, who on
that day used abundance of lights both in their churches and pro-
cessions, in memory as is supposed of our Saviour's being on that
day declared by Simeon "to be a light to lighten the Gentiles."
In imitation of this custom, the Roman Catholics on this day con-
secrate all the tapers and candles which they use in their churches
during the whole year. At Rome, the Pope performs that ceremony
himself ; and distributes wax candles to the Cardinals and others,
who carry them in procession through the Great Halls of the
Vatican or Pope's Palace. This ceremony was prohibited in
England by an Order of Council in the year 1548.
Some writers affirm that Candlemas was first instituted by Pope
Gelasius I. in 492. " The Romans were in the habit of burning
candles on this day to the goddess Februa, the mother of Mars; ;
and Pope Sergius seeing it would be useless to prohibit a practice
of so long standing turned it to christian account by enjoining a
similar offering of candles to the Virgin. The candles were
supposed to have the effect of frightening the devil and all evil
spirits away from the persons who carried them, or from the houses
in which they were placed." It is evident that the numerous
superstitious notions and observances connected with candles and
other lights in all countries had a remote origin, and may be con*
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64
siderei as relics of the once universally prevalent warship of the
sun and of fire, for mankind had so far forgotten the One living
and true God as to worship the creature instead of the Creator
who is God over all blessed for evermore.
A bright spark at the candle denotes that the party directly
opposite is to receive a letter. Windy weather is prophesied from
the waving of the flames without (apparent) cause, and wet
weather if the wick does not light readily. There is a tradition in
most parts of Europe to the effect that a fine Candlemas portends
a severe winter. In Scotland the prognostication is expressed in
the following distich : —
" If Candlemas is fair and clear
There'll be twa winters in the year."
It is said that condemned criminals making the amende honorable
at the church doors were constrained to bear in their hands a wax
taper of six pounds weight. That it is only thirty-two years since
a woman convicted of the offence of brawling in church, stood, by
sentence of the Ecclesiastical Court, in a white sheet and with a
candle in her hand, coram publico, in a church in Devonshire. By
the superstitious in olden times in England the rescued parts of
Candlemas tapers were supposed to possess supernatural virtues.
"Candlemas Bleeze" was until recently, a bonfire festival still
observed in sequestered parts of Scotland. A " winding, sheet,"
a "thief" in the candle, etc., were regarded as evil omens, and
anxious fears excited if suddenly a hollow cinder were ejected from
the fire to know whether it resembled a cradle or a coffin !
About a century ago London was so infested with gangs of
highwaymen that it was dangerous to go out after dusk. In i 705
an Act of Common Council was passed for regulating the nightly
watch of the City. A number of strong able-bodied men had to
be provided by each Ward. Every person occupying any shop,
house or warehouse had either to watch in person or pay an able-
bodied man to be appointed thereto. Watchmen were provided
with lanterns and candles and armed with halberts ; to watch from
nine in tfye evening till seven in the morning from Michaelmas to
the first-of April, and from ten till five from the first of April till
Michaelmas. Thus they went their nightly rounds calling ' ' Lantern
and a Qandle ! Hang out your Lights ! " for during dark nights a
certain number, ol householders in each street had to hang out
lanterns with a whole can lie, and the Watchman thundered at the
door of those delinquents who neglected to do so. The total
number of Watchmen appointed by this Act was 583.
Facing Price's Candle Factory was a field which was rented by the
Company and used as a cricket ground for their employes. Queen's
Terrace and streets adjacent now cover this portion of^and.
Among the State Papers is a letter dated August 22, 1580, from
Archbishop Sandys to John Wickliffe, keeper of his house at
Battersey, in which he directs him to deliver up the house to the
Lords of the Cguncil so that it might be turned into a prison for
obstinate papists. During the Commonwealth, York House was
sold to Sir Allen Apsley and Colonel Hutchinson for the sum of
£1,806 3s. 6d., but it was reclaimed by the See after the Restoration.
- Brayley in.his History of Surrey says, "Besides -this Mansion
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6S
(near York House) there are several handsome seats fronting the
river and various large manufacturing establishments, Chemical
works, and melting furnaces, etc. are extensive along its banks,
greatly to the annoyance of the market gardeners and florists who
complain grievously of the injury they sustain by the smoke and
noxious vapours of the numerous steam engines now employed in
this hitherto rural district. The establishment here for the pre-
servation of timber from the dry rot, called Kyanizing from the
name of its inventor, was destroyed by fire on the 20th of March,
1847 ; and the conflagration extended to other neighbouring works.
The process was carried on by forcing tar through the pores of the
wood, and here was a large pond of that fluid, the blaze of which
set fire to immense piles of timber which had either undergone the
process, or were in a state of preparation for it." — Brayley, Surrey
Martell, Vol. hi. P. 447.
A very useful thing is that dentated instrument called the Saw.
Pliny says that the saw was invented by Dcedalus. According to
Apollodolus Talus invented the saw. Talus it is said having found
the jaw-bone of a sna.»e employed it to cut through a piece of
wood and then formed an instrument of iron like it. Saw-mills
were erected in Madeira in 1420. At Bresdan in 1427. Norway
had the first saw-mills in 1530. The Bishop of Ely Ambassador
from Mary of England in the escort of Rome describes a saw-mill
there 1555. The attempts to introduce saw-mills into England
were violently opposed, and one invented by a Dutchman in 1663
was forced to be abandomed. Saw-mills were erected near London
about 1770. The excellent saw machinery at Woolwich Dockyard
is based upon the invention of the Elder Brunei, 1806-13. Sir
Mark Isambard Brunei was the son of a Normandy farmer, and
born at Hacqueville, near Rouen, on the 25th of April, 1769. He
early shewed an inclination for mechanics, and at school preferred
the study of the exact sciences to the classics. In 1786, he became
a sailor in the French Navy. In the revolutionary peiiod of 1793,
having involved himself by his political opinions he escaped from
Paris to the United States. Brunei's career as an engineer began
1794 when he was appointed to survey for the Canal which now
connects Lake Champlain with the river Hudson, at Albany. He
afterwards acted as an architect in New York. On his return to
Europe in 1799, he married the daughter of William Kingdom,
Esq., Plymouth, and settled in England. Here he soon established
his reputation as a mechanician by the invention of a machine for
making block pulleys for the rigging of ships. The erection of
steam saw-mills in Chatham Dockyard, a machine for making
seamless shoes for the army, machines for making nails and wooden
boxes, for rolling paper and twisting cotton hanks, and lastly a
machine for producing locomotion by means of Carbonic acid gas,
which' however though partially successful was afterwards
abandoned. " But the great work by which his name will be
transmitted to posterity is the Thames Tunnel which, though
almost a complete failure as a commercial transaction is nevertheless
a wondrous monument of engineering skill and enterprise. It was
commenced in March, 1825, and opened to the public in 1843, after
a multitude of obstacles and disasters." He held extensive
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at Battersea on the site now occupied by the Citizen
Steam-boat Company , where his celebrated saw and veneer mills
were burned down about the year 1814. He waft elected a Fellow
of the Royal Society in 1814 ; was appointed Vice-President in 1832.
He was Knighted in 1840. Died Dec. 1849, in his eighty first year,
universally respected.
Sir Eichard Phillips, who had an opportunity of inspecting
Brunei's machinery at Battersea, eulogizes his fame and speaks of
his merits and scientific genius thus : — " A few yards from the toll-
gate of the Bridge on tbe western side of the road stand the work-
shops of that eminent, modest, and persevering mechanic Mr,
Brunei, a gentleman of the rarest genius who has effected as much
for the mechanic arts as any man of his time. The wonderful
apparatus in the Dockyard at Portsmouth with which he sets blocks
for the navy, with a precision and expedition that astonish every
beholder, secures him a monument of fame and eclipses all rivalry."
At Battersea Works Sir Eichard witnessed four circular saws, two
of them 1 8-ft. in diameter and two of them 9-ft. in diameter, besides
other circular saws much smaller used for the purpose of separating
veneers. He saw planks of mahogany and rosewood sawn into
veneers the 16th of an inch thick. By the power that turned those
tremendous saws he beheld a large sheet of veneer 10-lt. long by
2-ft. broad separated in ten minutes " so even and so uniform that
it appeared more like a perfect work of nature than one of human
art." In another building Sir Eichard was shown Mr. Brunei's
manufactory for shoes, where the labour was sub-divided so that
each shoe passed by aid of machinery through twenty-five hands
complete from the hide as supplied by the currier. By this means
a hundred pairs of strong and well-finished shoes were made per
day. He remarks, " each man performs but one step in the process,
which implies no knowledge of what is done by those who go before
or follow him. The persons employed are not shoemakers, but
wounded soldiers, who are able to learn their respective duties in
a few hours. The contract at which these shoes are delivered to
Government is 6s. 6d. per pair, being at least 2s. less than were
paid previously for an unequalled and cobbled article." The shoes
thus made for the Army were tried for two years but afterwards
abandoned from economical views.
Sir Eichard Phillips in his " Morning Walk from London to
Kew" (page 42) savs, "at the distance of a hundred yards from
Battersea Bridge an extensive pile of massy brick work for the
manufacture of soap has recently been erected, at a cost it is said
of sixty thousand pounds. I was told it was inaccessible to strangers
and therefore was obliged to content myself with viewing it at a
distance." This soap factory stood by the water side, a little to
the east of the Bridge, erected by Mr. Cleaver. There were some
la ge turpentine works in this parish, which belonged to Mr.
Flocton.
Battersea has three bridges across the Thames communicating
with Chelsea.
The history of the Ferry prior to the erection of the OLD
WOODEN BEIDOE at Battersea can be traced back some two or
three centuries, It was much used as a means of transporting
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passengers, goods, etc., over this part of the river. At the com-
mencement of the reign of James I. the Ferry from Battersea to
Chelsea or Chelchehith Ferry was in full operation. "When
James I. ascended the throne " by Letters Patent for the sum of
£40, the King gave his dear relations Thomas Earl of Lincoln, and
John Eldred and Eobert Henley, Esquires, all the ferry across the
river Thames called Chelchehith Ferry, or Chelsea Ferry." In
addition to which some grants of land were included and the
Grantees were empowered to transfer their rights to " our very
illustrious subject William Blake." In 1618 the Earl of Lincoln,
who owned Sir Thomas More's house in Chelsea which Sir Thomas
More had purchased from Sir Eobert Cecil, sold the ferry to William
Blake. In 1695 it belonged to one Bartholomew Nutt. The ferry
appears to have been rated in the parish books in 1710 at £8 per
annum. Between the year 1765. and 1771 the ferry produced an
average rental of £42 per annum. Sir Walter St. John by virtue
of his manorial rights held possession of the ferry, at his death in
1708, the ferry with the rest of the property went to his son Henry,
who died in 1742 having left the family estate to his son Henry
the famous Viscount Bolingbroke, at whose death in 1751, in con-
sequence of his having no issue or progeny of his own, the estates
with the title descended to his nephew Frederick (son of his half-
brother, John Viscount St. John) who obtained an Act of Parlia-
ment in 1762 to sell his estate, which, as we have already observed,
was purchased in 1763 by the Trustees of John, Earl Spencer.
Earl Spencer being anxious to replace the ferry with a bridge, in
1766 obtained an Act of Parliament which empowered him to build
the present bridge. The bridge is in Battersea and Chelsea Parishes
(the marks denning the boundry line of these Parishes meet in the
centre) it was not to be rated to the land tax, or any public or
parochial rate ; nor deemed a County bridge, so as to subject the
Counties of Surrey and Middlesex to repair the same. In the. event
of any casualty occuring to the bridge thereby rendering it
" dangerous and impracticable" the Earl had to provide a con-
venient ferry at the same rate of tolls as the bridge. Some old
writers who have written on the Antiquities and History of Surrey,
state that the bridge was built at the expense of fifteen proprietors
each of whom subscribed £1,500. Mr. Walford says in 1771,
"Lord Spencer associated with himself seventeen gentlemen, each
of whom was to pay £100 as a consideration for the fifteenth share
of the ferry and all the advantages conferred on the Earl by the
Act of 1 766. They were also made responsible for a future payment
of £900 each towards the construction of a bridge. A contract
was entered into with Messrs. Phillips and Holland to build the
bridge for £10,500. The work was at once commenced, and by
the end of 1771 it was opened for foot passengers and in the
following year it was available for carriage traffic. Money had to
be laid out for the formation of approach roads, so that at the end
of 1773 the total amount expended was £15,662. For many years
the proprietors realized only a small return upon their capital,
repairs and improvements absorbing nearly all the receipts. In
the severe winter of 1795 considerable damage was done to the
bridge by reason of the accumulated ice becoming attached to the
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(timber) piles and drawing them on the riae of the tide, and in the
last three years of the eighteenth century no dividends were dis-
tributed." The bridge is 726 feet long and 24 feet wide. It
originally had 19 openings, the centre opening had a space of 31
feet, and the others decreased in width equally on each side to 16
feet at the ends, but in consequence of the serious hindrances which
the structure caused to navigation on the Thames within the last
few years the bridge has undergone alterations in order to widen
the water-way, four of the openings have been converted into two
and strong iron girdeTS have been introduced. The centre opening
is now 75 feet wide with a clear head-way of 15 feet at Trinity
High Water Mark. In 1799 only one side of the bridge was
lighted with oil lamps. "In 1821 the dangerous wooden railing
was replaced by a hand rail of iron, and in 1824 the bridge was
lighted with gas the pipes being brought over from Chelsea altnough
Battersea remained unlighted for several years afterwards." In
the year 1873, the bridge, which had hitherto remained in the
hands of the decendants or Mends of the original proprietors came
into the possession of the Albert Bridge Company under their Act
of Incorporation. Its revenues in 1 792 were about £ 1 , 700. About
nine years ago its yearly income was estimated at £5,000.
Battersea Bridge Tolls by Act of Parliament 6° George III.
1766.
For every description of vehicle drawn by one horse,
ass, mule or other beast . . . . 4d.
,, ,, two 6d.
„ „ three 9d.
„ „ four Is.
For every horse, ass mule or other beast laden and
not drawing . . . : Id.
For every hackney carriage with plates returning
empty per horse . . . . . . . . Id.
For every foot-passenger whatever . . . . £d.
For every drove of oxen or neat cattle per score lOd.
and after that rate in any greater or less number.
For every drove of calves, hogs, sheep or lambs per
score . . . . . . . . . . . . 5d.
and after that rate in any greater or less number.
On a Notice Board dated 6th October, 1824, are the following
words : " Notice is hereby given that no trucks, wheelbarrows or
other carriages will be permitted to be drawn upon the foot-paths
of this bridge. By order of the Proprietors.
The Bridge though convenient has an unsightly appearance and
unworthy its position across a river spanned by some of the finest
bridges in the world. At the foot of the Old Bridge is a toll-house
with walls twenty inches in thickness, facing which is a painted
board with charges for tolls headed " Old Battersea Bridge Tolls
by Act of Parliament 6° George III., 1766."
ALBEET SUSPENSION BRIDGE, conceived originally many
years ago by the Prince Consort, it was not until 1864 that an
Act for its construction was obtained. Although the works were com-
menced soon after the necessary powers were conferred upon the
' Company, they were retarded by the action of the Metropolitan
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Board of Works. That body proposed to embank flie river from
Pimlico to Battersea Bridge, Chelsea ; the execution of that work
would involve questions affecting the bridge level and approaches.
Not until 1867 did the Board obtain their Act, and not until the
Autumn of 1870 did their engineer determine the open question
affecting the approaches and levels of the Albert Bridge. In the
mean-time the powers of the Bridge Act expired, but were revived
on application to Parliament on condition that the bridge should
be constructed on Mr. Ordish's rigid suspension principle. This
principle is now generally well known, it having been carried out
in practice on several instances, notably in that of the Francis
Joseph Bridge at Prague, which is 820 feet long and has a centre
span of 492 feet, and two side spans of 164 feet each. The Ordish
system consists in suspending the main girders which carry the
road-way by straight inclined chains, which are maintained in their
proper position by being suspended by vertical rods at intervals of
20 feet from a steel iron cable. The total length of the Albert
Bridge is 710 feet and 41 feet in width between the parapets, which
are formed of the main girders, which are of wrought iron 8 feet
deep and continuous ; the upper portion is perforated in order to
lighten and improve the structure. The main girders are connected
transversely by cross girders placed 8 feet apart, on these the plank-
ing is laid for the carriage road- way, which is formed of blocks of
wood placed with the grain vertically on the planking. The road-
way is 27 feet in width. On either side is a foot-way 7 feet wide,
paved with diamond-shaped slabs of Ransome stone 12 inches
square and 1£ inches thick, laid on the planking with a layer of
tar and asphalted felt interposed. The slabs in the centre of the
footpath are of a grey color with an ornamental border. The four
towers carrying the main chains of the bridge are placed outside the
parapet girders ; they are placed in pairs, each pair being connected
at a height of 60 feet from the platform level by an ornamental
iron work. The towers are of cast-iron and consist each of an
inner column 4 feet in external diameter, and surrounded by eight
12-inch octagonal columns placed 12 inches from the central shaft,
the whole group being connected together at intervals by disc pieces
of collars of cast-iron. The straight chains are composed of rolled
iron bars, united end to end by riveted joints and having swelled
heads only at the extreme ends. The curved cable from which the
straight chains are suspended to preserve their equilibrium is of
steel wire and is 6 inches in diameter. It is composed of a series
of strands of straight wires, about 900 in number, bound together
by a coiled wire or smaller diameter. The bridge is divided into
a centre with two side openings, the former a span of 400 feet, and
the latter 155 feet each. There is a clear headway of 21 feet at
the centre of the bridge from the under side of the platform to
Trinity high water mark, the height being reduced to 10 feet at the
abutments. The piers carrying the four towers are formed of cast-
iron cylinders sunk down to the London clay and filled with concrete.
The foundations of the piers consist also of cast-iron cylinders, the
bottom or cutting ring being 21 feet in diameter, 4 feet 6 inches
high and If inches thick. The next ring above this is 5 feet high
and tapers from 21 feet at its junction with the cutting ring to 15
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_- _- top, from which point the pier is constructed with
cylinders 15 feet in diameter up to the level at which the towers
commence. The thickness of the metal in the coned and upper
rings is 1 J inch. The bottom or cutting rings are noticeable as
being the largest cylindrical castings ever made in one piece. One
of the chief peculiarities in the Albert Bridge is the method
introduced by Mr. Ordish in forming the anchorage. The arrange-
ment is perfectly independent of the great mass of masonry generally
employed in anchorages the anchorages being contained within an
iron structure. It consists of a cast-iron cylinder 20 feet 6 inches
deep and 3 feet internal diameter enlarged at the bottom into a
chamber 5 feet diameter for anchoring the chains. The cylinder is
water-tight, and is provided with a manhole and steps, so that the
anchorage can be examined at any time, and cleaned and painted
when necessary. This cylinder is set vertically in a surrounding
bed of concrete, the bottom being 26 feet below the road-way bed.
From this proceeds a vertical anchorage chain, connected to the end
of the main girder, to which is also connected the principal back
chain and the wire cable. The horizontal strain is thus taken
through the main girders and the vertical lift by the mass of concrete
in which the cylinder is embedded, and which is about one-tenth
the quantity required in ordinary anchorages. The bridge com-
mands an extensive and picturesque prospect, having on the one
hand Battersea Park and on the other the Thames Embankment.
Messrs. Williamson and Company were the contractors for the bridge
and Mr. F. W. Bryant was their engineer. The cylinders for the
piers were cast by Messrs. Robin so a and Cottam, of Battersea ;
the cast and wrought iron work for the superstructure was supplied
by Messrs. A. Handyside and Company of Derby and London, and
the steel wire cables by the Cardigan Iron and Steel Works,
Sheffield. There are twenty upright lamposts in keeping with the
character of the bridge each bearing a lamp. One rather taller
than the rest stands in the middle of the road approaching the
bridge, at the base of which toll-bars are swung on iron hinges to
obstruct the carriages, the others are placed at certain distances
apart opposite each other on either side of the pathways. There
are also four small lodges at which to receive carriage and foot tolls.
The bridge was opened 31st December, 1872, at 1 p.m. ; re-opened
the 23rd of August, 1873, at 12.30 p.m. Estimated cost of bridge
with approaches, etc., etc., about £90,000. Battersea Old Bridge
belongs to the Albert Bridge Company.
Off Park Road, Battersea, is an antique cottage, the birthplace
and residence of Mr. Juer, who for several years discharged the
duties of Overseer and other Parochial offices in a manner creditable
to himself and highly satisfactory to the parishioners. From family
records he has been able to trace that his ancestors have occupied
this dwelling for the last three centuries. Mr. Juer died Nov. 30,
and was interred Dec. 6, 1878, in the family vault in St. Mary's
Church-yard, where there had been no burial for 25 years. Canon
Clarke read the burial service, and many of the old parishioners
were present who respected the memory of the deceased.
CHELSEA SUSPENSION BEIDGE is an elegant structure on
the suspension principle, (from the site of Eanelagh to Battersoa*
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*1
Park) : it measures 347 feet between the towers and 705 between
the abutments. It was made at Edinburgh and erected in 1 857 after
designs by the late Mr. Thomas Page, the architect of the New
Bridge at Westminster, at a cost of £85,319. It was opened on
the 28th of March, 1858. The roadway is suspended upon chains,
which hang from two massive and ornamental piers in the river,
the ends being firmly secured by solid masonry on the shores. On
a portion of the iron- work of the beautiful arches connecting the
towers of this magnificent bridge, beneath the escutcheon represent-
ing the Royal Standard, are emblazoned the following Latin
inscriptions in old German characters: — AnnoRegni Vicmmo Victoria,
Anno Domini, 1857, Gloria Deo in Excelsis. The large globular
lamps at the top of the piers are lighted only when the Queen sleeps
in London.
Tolls paid for passing over this Bridge were : —
For every foot-passenger . . . . . . £d.
For every description of vehicle drawn by one horse
and other beast ©f draught .... . . 2d.
For each and every additional horse or other beast
drawing . . . . . . . . . . Id.
For every horse, mule or ass not drawing . . Id.
For every wheelbarrow or truck not drawn by any
horse or other beast . . . . . • . . Id.
For every score of oxen or neat cattle and so in pro-
portion for any greater or less number . . 8d.
For every score calves, sheep or lambs, and so in
proportion for any greater or less number 4d.
Hackney coaches and licensed cabs without passengers, waggons,
carts and drays unladen with two or more horses, to pass over the
bridge upon payment of half the abjve toll. And all post chaise
returning without passengers and return post horses, to pass over
the bridge free. By virtue of an Act of Parliament 9th and 10th
Victoria, cap. 39. By order of the C^nmissioners of Her Majesty's
Works and Public Buildings, 1858. Office of Works, 12, Whitehall
Place, Westminster.
Londoners may congratulate themselves that they are at last
allowed to cross the bridges which connect the opposite banks of
the Thames at the western end of this great city without paying
toll. The Metropolitan Board of Works have expended £538,847
19s. in freeing these five bridges — viz : Lambeth Bridge, £36,059 ;
Vauxhall Bridge, £255,230 16s. 8d. ; Albert and Battersea Bridges,
(including Parliamentary costs), £170,305; Albert Bridge Company
(taxed costs of arbitration), £2,253 3s. Id. ; Chelsea Bridge,
£75,000. On Saturday, the 24th of May, 1879, Her Majesty Queen
Victoria's birthday was appropriately chosen for the occasion and
great preparations had been made for giving e'clat to the ceremony.
The route taken by the Royal Party (which included the Prince
and Princess of Wales — two of their children, Prince Albert Victor
and Prince G-eorge of Wales, attired in naval costume as naval
cadets ; the Duke and Duchess of Elinburgh, the Crown Prince ot
Denmark) which was gay with Venetian masts, bannerets, streamers
and flags. The Circular Engine Shed in Victoria Bridge Road and
that portion of the railway bridge which spans the Thames belong-
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ing to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company
were lavishly festooned and decorated with coloured flags most
profusely. Shortly after 3 p.m. came three open carriages each
drawn by two horses and the well-known scarlet livery of the
Court Mews on the hammer-cloths. At the south side of Lambeth
Bridge the Prince was received by Sir James M'Garel Hogg, M.P.,
Chairman of the Board of Works ; the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Lord Middleton, Sir Henry Peek, Sir James Lawrence, M.P., Mr.
Alderman McArthur, M.P., Mr. Selway, M.P., Mr. Coope, M.P.,
and other notabilities. The keys having been surrended with the
customary formalities, a Royal salute having been fired from the
banks of the river and the bands having played the National
Anthem, Mr. J. M. Clabon handed the Prince of Wales an address,
folded and tied with green tape, after a moment's parley His Royal
Highness with a smile and an approving nod of the head from the
Princess, who was by express wish a joint participator with the
Heir Apparent in the ceremony of opening the bridge, handed
back the address asking; that it might be read as he wished to reply,
then Sir James M'Garel Hogg untying the tape and unfolding the
address read as follows : —
" To their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales.
May it please your Royal Highness — It is with great gratification
that we, the Chairman and Members of the Metropolitan Board of
Works, receive your Royal Highnesses on the occasion of your
opening free to the public the five bridges over the 'Thames, from
Lambeth Bridge on the east to Battersea Bridge on the west, which
serve to connect important districts on the two sides of the river.
London, which in many respects stands at the head of the great
cities of the world, has too long, we fear, in the matter of free
passage across the river, been behind the capitals of other countries.
Until to-day there has been no free bridge in the metropolis west-
ward of Westminster by which the population north and south of
the Thames could pass from one side of the river to the other. We
are glad that this reproach will now be removed. The bridges
which your Royal Highnesses are about to declare free have been
acquired by the board under the powers of an Act of Parliament
passed in the year 1877, which had for its object the extinction of
the tolls on all the bridges in London. Waterloo Bridge and the
Charing-cross Railway Footbridge have already been made free.
The tolls will this day be extinguished on five other bridges, and
before the end of the year it is hoped that there will be none but
free bridges over the Thames throughout the metropolitan area.
The metropolis and its inhabitants have received many proofs of
the interest which your Royal Highnesses feel in their welfare, and
of the encouragement which you are always ready to give to those
who are engaged in promoting that welfare. Your presence upon
this occasion is a further proof of the interest you feel, and we offer
your Royal Highnesses our sincere thanks for the honour you have
done us.
Signed, on behalf of the Metropolitan Board of Works,
J. M. M'Gakel-Hogg, Chairman of the Board,
May 24, 1879.
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The Prince of Wales spoke in reply as follows :
Sir James Hogg and Gentlemen — I thank you in my own name
and that of the Princess of Wales for your address, and I can
assure you that it gives us both sincere pleasure to take a part in
this day's proceedings. The opening of the five bridges westward
of Westminster is an important event in the annals of the metro-
polis, and I rejoice that you should have chosen the Queen's Birth-
eay to declare them free. It is a source of great gratification to us
to hear your announcement that the other bridges will, before long,
be equally open to the public. A free communicatiou across the
Thames is an incalculable boon to all classes of the inhabitants on
both sides of the river, and it is our earnest hope that you will be
enabled to carry your promised work into effect within the specified
time. Let me state in conclusion that the Princess and myself are
always ready to assist in advancing any object which identifies us
with the population of London, and which tends to promote the
interests of the public. The Prince then, amidst loud cheers, ex-
claimed, ' I declare this bridge open and free for ever.' "
Twenty carriages were devoted to the Members of Parliament,
Members of the Metropolitan Board and the Officials the twentieth
containing Sir James M'Garel-Hogg and some ladies and following
this came the three Eoyal carriages. The route being kept clear of
traffic and the spectators massed in lines along side by the police —
some 1600 were on duty — the arrangements south side of the bridges
being in charge of Captain Braynes, while on the north side Colonel
Pearson had the directions. His Eoyal Highness proceeded by
way of the Albert Embankment to Vauxhall Bridge, the approach
to which was exceedingly picturesque the banks of the Thames
fluttering with flags, and the river crowded with boats that followed
the protege. The procession crossed and re-crossed Chelsea Suspen-
sion Bridge. In the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
West-end Goods Traffic Yard a Eoyal salute was given on the
arrival of the Prince by the crushing weight of a locomotive
named Eennes, No. 130, passing over twenty-one fog signals, an
arrangement previously made by Mr. J. Eichardson, the effect of
which gave general satisfaction. The west side of the Victoria
Eailway Bridge which spans the Thames was elegantly decorated
from one end to the other by the London, Brighton and South
Coast Eailway Company. Festoons and tri-coloured flags represent-
ing the colours used for signals on railways were voluntarily dis-
played in such profusion by Messrs. J. Eichardson and Everest as
to render the scene quite imposing. In front of Chelsea Hospital
were drawn up two hundred warriors of olden times, pensioners
in their beaver cocked hats who knowing more about " Brown
Bess than the Martini rifle managed to do a salute with tolerable
precision." The people assembled in Battersea Park made a rush
for Albert Bridge as the procession approached that graceful
structure. The Albert Bridge Company was represented by Mr.
Ewing Matheson, the Chairman ; Mr. Youngman, Manager ; Mr.
A. C. Harper, Secretary, and Mr. Frederick Stanley, Solicitor.
(The Countess of Cadogan presented the Princess of Wales and the
Duchess of Edinburgh with handsome bouquets on behalf of the
ladies of Chelsea. Button holes of a very choice nature were also
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presented to the Prince of Wales and the Duke). Mr. Kingsbury,
Chairman of the Chelsea Vestry, had the honour of presenting a
silver medal commemorative of the occasion to the Prince of Wales
which was graciously accepted. At the north side of the bridge
were drawn up the boys of the Duke of York Asylum ; at the south
side the children of the local schools, all singing with as much
gusto as their little lungs would allow " God bless the Prince of
Wales." The Pier Hotel and the houses facing the Albert Bridge
were gaily and handsomely decorated with flags of all nations, and
the balconies at the corner of Cheyne Walk being filled with ladies
arrayed in summer toilets, thus lending an additional charm to the
mite en scene. The military display consisted of guards of honour
from the 1st Middlesex Engineer Volunteers and the 2nd (south)
Middlesex Bifle Volunteers. The keys of the Albert Bridge were
handed over on behalf of the Company by Messrs. Matheson and
Stanley and a device swung across the bridge denoting that the
latter was u free for ever." On the Chelsea side Mr. Stayton was
the designer of the festivities. Passing along the Surrey side of the
river the Prince made for Old Battersea Bridge the last of the five
to be opened. Here the Surrey Voluuteers and the Surrey Artillery
mustered in force, and a Salvo of Artillery from the Citizen Steam-
boat Company announced that the bridge was free. At the
approach to the Bridge in Bridge Road stands of evergreens were
most tastefully arranged by the employes of Messrs. H. and Gv
Neal the well-known Nurserymen of Wandsworth Common. At
no point in the line of route were greater demonstrations of joy
expressed and loyalty manifested than by the Battersea people.
The Royal party returned to Marlborough House— the other
carriages then went to Chelsea Vestry Hall where a banquet was
served, and at night there was a display of fireworks at Battersea
Paik supplied by the Crystal Palace Pyrotechnists, T. Brock & Co.,
the expense being borne by Earl Cadogan to wind up the eventful
day's proceedings.
At the foot of Chelsea Suspension Bridge a board is erected on
which is written the following : Notice, Metropolitan Board of Works.
No Traction Engine, Steam Roller, or any load exceeding 5 tons on each
pair of wheels, must he taken over this bridge. By order of J. E.
Wakefield, Clerk to the Board, May, 1879.
Shortly after the freeing of the bridges the " bars" were re-
moved, and the old toll house at the foot of Battersea Bridge
entirely demolished.
The stupendous Railway Bridge across the Thames at Battersea
from Battersea Park Railway Pier to Grosvenor Road Station is
said to be the Widest Railway Bridge in the World. It consists of
four arches each one hundred and seventy-five feet span in the clear,
with a rise of seventeen feet six inches. The immense ribs which
support the superstructure are formed throughout of wrought iron,
and are firmly attached to massive cast-iron standards which are
placed over the piers ; the whole of the frame-work is thus made
continuous throughout. On each side of the river is a land arch of
seventy feet span, making the entire length of the bridge eight
hundred and forty feet. The abutments were put in by means of
coffer-dams, and the foundations are carried down thirty feet below
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Trinity high-water mark. The piers are "built upon the same
principle as that which was first applied by the late Charles Fox to
the building of the Bridge at Rochester, Charing Cross, and Cannon
Street, Railway Bridges. The bridge was first erected by Mr. J.
Fowler. In 1865-6 it was enlarged by the late Sir Charles Fox.
Some antiquarians have stated that about fifty yards westward of
Chelsea Suspension Bridge, Caesar and his legions crossed the river
Thames by a ford when in pursuit of the Britons who were retreat-
ing from the Romans. The ford is described at low water as a
shoal of gravel not more than three feet deep, sufficient for ten
men to walk abreast, except on the Surrey side where it has been
deepened by raising ballast, and the causeway from the South bank
may yet be traced at low water. Others think that the place of
crossing was higher up the river, either at Chertsey or Kingston ;
the latter was anciently called Moreford, or the Great Ford. How-
ever, landing at Deal, it is natural the Romans would cross the
river at some ford nearest that point.*
We would suggest that the next Monolith brought to this country
from the land of the Ptolemys or Caesars be erected on this spot,
similar to that oi Cleopatra's Needle on the Victoria Embankment.
Watermen and others who navigate the river have observed how
very shallow the water is at this spot. Sir Richard Phillips says
"the event was pregnant with such consequences to the fortune of
these Islands, that the spot deserves the record of a monument ;
which ought to be preserved from age to age, as long as the venera-
tion due to antiquity is cherished among us. Who could then have
contemplated that the folly of Roman ambition would be the means
of introducing arts among the semi-barbarous Britons, which in
eighteen hundred and forty years or after the lapse of nearly sixty
generations, would qualify Britain to become mistress of Imperial
Rome ; while one country would become as exalted, and the other
be so debased, that the event would excite little attention, and be
deemed but of secondary importance ? Possibly after another sixty
generations, the posterity of the savage tribes near Sierra — Leone,
or New Holland may arbitrate the fate of London, or of Britain, as
an affair of equal indifference." f
We shall not attempt to speculate as to what is within the range
* The distance of Chertsey (Surrey) from London is about nineteen miles.
Here, says Camden, Julius Caesar crossed the Thames when he first attempted
the conquest of Briiain; but Mr. Gough, in his addition to the "Britannia,"
has advanced some arguments against this opinion. The passage some believe to
have been effected at Coway Stakes, about a quarter of a mile below Chertsey
Bridge, where Julius Caesar crossed the Thames when he led the Roman army
into the kingdom of Cassivellaunus, who had encamped his forces on the opposite
shore. The Britons did everything in their power to prevent the Romans from
crossing by driving stakes into the bed of the river and fencing the banks with
wooden palisades. Obstacles of this kind were lightly estimated by the bold
legionaries. The cavalry at once entered the river ; the infantry crossed with their
heads only above water, and panic-struck at the sight of Roman intrepidity, the
barbarian warriors fled fiom their post without an effort to maintain it Bede,
who lived in the beginning of the eighth century, tells us, that some of the stakes
were then to be seen, and were as big as a man's thigh.' Mr. Milner says some of
these stakes have been found at a recent period, hard as ebony, each being the
body of a young oak tree.
t •• A Morning's Walk from London to Row," by Sir Richard Phillips, pp.
26-27, published 18 17.
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of human possibilities 'knowing as all history teaches us how
transcient is the glory of sublunary things. We believe that while
England is true to herself and true to God such a state of things
concerning Britain as that depicted by Sir Richard will never be
realised. The overthrow of dynasties, of nations and of empires
is the result of moral degeneracy — the effect of national and in-
dividual sins. " Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a re-
proach to any people. By the Almighty who doeth according to
His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, kings reign and princes decree justice, He putteth down one
and setteth up another." However, while reading the fore-mentioned
quotation we were forcibly reminded of Macauly's New Zealander
sitting upon a broken arch of London Bridge contemplating o'er
the desolation of England's chief city, or some other traveller from
the Antipodes who shall stand on the broken arches of "Westminster
Bridge, and gazing on a horizon of ruin, cry "Here stood the
Metropolis of a Mighty Empire ! "
Many years ago a person wrote a note to the Bev. John Brand,
Secretary to the Antiquarian Society, to say that as he was passing
through Battersea Pields he saw some labourers dig up a leaden
coffin, in which was a skeleton and near it there were three more
human skeletons. There is no date but it is addressed to Mr.
Brand, at Northumberland House, which he left about 1795.
About sixty-five years ago there was a house situated in the
middle of Battersea Fields which remained for a long time un-
inhabited on account of the strange and weired stories related and
circulated about it. Ignorant and uneducated people said it was
"haunted." Nobody would live in it. At midnight "lights" it
was said were to be seen "flitting about the rooms," and " dismal
groans of one in extremes, at the point to die" were to be heard,
and so many believed in "old bogies" and tales of "hobgoblins"
so their minds pictured the most frightful and hideous spectres
imaginable. At length the house like other old buildings in the
neighbourhood was demolished. The Rev. John Kirk, who wrote
a Biography of the Mother of the Wesleys, says : " The legendary
literature of the world teems with wonderful stories of haunted
houses where invisible spirits were believed to utter mysterious
sounds, to perform extraordinary pranks, and sometimes com-
municate revelations of the future, or disclose the dread secrets of
the hidden world. These beliefs though strongest and most
prevalent where the Gospel is unknown or least influential, are not
peculiar to generations ' of old time ' or to any particular nation
under heaven." Certainly the present generation do not appear to
have improved much more than their forefathers in this respect
when there is so much nonsensical talk about communicating with
the invisible world by means of ' ' spirit rappings, " " table turn in gs, ' '
etc. Surely the age when men shall give heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of demons has come !
Battersea Fields, within the Manor along the Thames, were long
notable as a marshy tract producing a great variety of indigenous
plants; and were the scene on March 21st, 1829, of the duel between
the Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchelsea * Battersea Fields
* The Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill passed the Commons by a majority
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were reputed as a place for duelling and prize-fights but are now partly
disposed in a fine Public Park, and partly covered with, streets and
buildings. A lane from Nine Elms pass Tugey's Mill and Kock's
Tea Gardens, by the poplar trees led to the Red House which faced
the river near the foot of the South side of Chelsea Suspension
Bridge since erected. Here in front was a tall flag-staff with flag
waving in the breeze on which were letters denoting the sign of
the house Seats and ale-benches, embowered with clusters of elm
trees with wide-spreading branches overhead, were placed for
the accommodation of persons who resorted thither for refreshment.
The space here embanked and enclosed with an iron palisade formed
a kind of jetty divided in the centre by a flight of steps from the
river as well as having a flight of steps at both ends where water-
men landed their passengers or took up their fares. There was a
ferry here to the "White House" on the opposite side of the Thames.
The "Red House" was built of red bricks with white pointings, wide
but not high in elevation. It had one story above the basement
with slanted slated roof, and contained in all fourteen rooms. Each
of the windows on the ground-floor had wooden shutters hung on
hinges painted green, which, when closed or folded, fastened
inside with bolts. The windows did not project from the general
face of the building except the refreshment bar and the up-
stairs dining room. This apartment and the long room adjoin-
ing commanded an extensive and pleasant prospect of the river A
large lamp, supported by means of an iron branch fastened to the
wall, projected over the middle door. The Royal Humane Society's
drags were always kept here in readiness in case of emergency, and
notice was written on a board suspended outside the west end of
the house to that effect. The gardens were laid out in small
arbours decorated. with Flemish and other paintings and fancifully
formed flower-beds. In the centre of the garden was a fish-pond ;
the walks were prettily disposed ; at the end of the principal one
was a painting, the perspective rendered the walk in appearance
much longer than it really was. The shooting ground was about
120 yards square, and inclosed by palings. Beyond the east end of
the house was situated a range of "boxes" or alcoves — seven in
number — which at night were illuminated with oil-lamps. Each
" box " had a table in the centre with seats all round so that twelve
persons could sit inside very comfortably. Of a morning several of
the Guards were in the habit of arriving here by water, from
Whitehall stairs to enjoy their " Flounder breakfast " at ten o'clock.
And certain noblemen dignified with their presence and patronage
the annual " Sucking Pig Dinner," which generally took place in
the month of August.
of 320 to 142, March 30, and was carried on the third reading in the Lords by
313 to 104, April 10. The Bill met with determined opposition from the
Marquis of Winchelsea who said some things which the Duke regarded as a
personal insult. This led to the hostile meeting at Battersea Fields. It was
fashionable in those days for gentlemen to settle their friendly differences with a
yard of cold steel or a bullet from the muzzle of a pistol — happily as the result of
this duel no blood was shed — the Duke with a directed aim sent a bullet through
the hat of Winchelsea, whereupon the Marquis fired his pistol in the air, advanced
towards the Duke and made an apology, the Duke of Wellington politely bowed
to his political antagonist and then separated. Wellington Road, near Battersea
Bridge, mark's the locality and derives its name from this circumstance.
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Mr. Wright, who at one time was proprietor of the " Bed House,""
had a Eaven that he called " Gyp " that used to talk. Sometimes as
if hailing a waterman from the river the bird would cry out " boat
ahoy!" " "What's o'clock? what's o'clock?" it would hurriedly-
repeat as if anxious to know the hour. At another time "Gyp"
would call "Bock! over!" "Over!" as if to intimate that some-
body requested to be ferried over to the other side. Many a scull
has been deceived by the mimic cries of this black-feathered rascal.
One da> Eock the ferryman was so irritated, having been twice
deceived that day by the call of " Gyp," that he took up a quart
pewter pot and threw it at his head. "Gyp" narrowly escaped
uuinjurt-d. Mr. Wright remonstrated and said he would not have
the bird hurt at any price. The raven was deliciously fond of
picking bones. On one occasion a gentleman accidently dropped
his spectacles ; presently, on looking up, he discovered his lost
property in the beak of the raven perched on a bough with all the
gravity of a sexton. "Gyp" had an incurable antipathy to dogs.
If perchance a dog passed by, in an instant he would pounce upon
its back, hold on by his claws and peck at it most unmercifully,
while the dog thus attacked ran away yelping and howling. When
dislodged, "Gyp's" pinions bore him swiftly away from the reach
of the teeth of his canine adversary. " Gyp " was of a jealous dis-
position and did not like to see other birds petted. He has been
known to kill a magpie and a raven. It was dangerous to put
money down in the presence of ' ; Gyp " for " Gyp ' ' had the propensity
of picking it up and of flying away with it. On one occasion he
seized a sovereign which a customer put down. As "Gyp" had
several hiding places where he deposited " stolen articles," as spoons,
knives, forks, etc., diligent search was made but the valuable coin
was never discovered. The last account we heard of " Gyp " was
that he was taken down to Shropshire and that, the poor bird died.
Mr. W. Puttick, to whom we are indebted for some curious pieces
of information, says, "One of the notabilities at the Eed House
beside the Eaven whose bites I have often experienced was a half-
witted man who went by the name of * Billy' the nutman. He used
to carry a bag of nuts and a dial, people paid a penny and turned
a hand and had nuts for their money. I have often seen this man
stand in the water and let the pigeon shooters shoot at him for a
few pence, his gesticulations and grotesque movements at the same
time exciting from the spectators shouts and roars of laughter."
Mr. Wright took the house of Mr. Swaine, but after Mr. Wright
•left, the house was taken by a man of the name of Ireland.
James Eock, a respectable ferryman and lighterman, whose house
was hard by, was accidently drowned in the river Thames, August,
1874. His son, George Eock, is now Pier-master at Battersea
Park Eailway Pier.
The "Eed House" was famed for aquatic sports. Adjoining
the premises were grounds for pigeon and sparrow-shooting,
and the performance of athletic feats. Pigeons were there sold
to be shot at, at 15s. per dozen; starlings at 4s., and sparrows
at 2s. The place attained a notoriety not surpassed by the
number of excursionists who in summer visit Eye House.
{Subsequently the Eed House with its shooting ground and
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adjacent premises was purchased by the Government for £10,000.
" The Old House at Home" was a small thatched hut, kept by
Farmer Hall, where beer was sold direct from the cask, to be
drunken on the premises. It answered the six-fold purpose of shop,
dormitory, fowl-house, pig-sty, stable and cow-shed. Within this
hovel were gathered pigs, fowls, cats, dogs, singing-birds, ducks,
cows, horses and donkeys, which, together with the landlord and
his customers who regaled themselves here, constituted a "happy
family !" This was a famous place for "egg flip," which consisted
of new-laid eggs taken from the hens' nests, beat up in hot ale or
porter, sweetened with sugar, and sold to persons who preferred
roaming about at mid-night or in the small hours of the morning.
On the Lammas land, in the summer months, gipsies pitched
their encampments. On Sundays the place presented the aspect
of a pleasure fair, lawlessness, Sabbath desecration, immorality,
and vice were rampant. At length the place became a scandal and
a public disgrace, and even now, notwithstanding the vast improve-
ments in the neighbourhood, Battersea, as a Parish, to a certain
extent is ignored, and persons would no more have smiled at
Battersea Park being called Lambeth Park than they do now at
Clapham Junction being called by that misnomer, and so with
other parts of the parish. A great boon was conferred upon the
inhabitants of the South-west of London when this infamous
locality was converted into a public park. The intolerable
nuisance complained of did not take place previously to the year
1835, after Lord Spencer's first sale when the land fell into the
hands of small proprietors. Irrespective of social propriety, public
decency and order, horse-racing, donkey-riding, fortune-telling,
gambling, cock-shying, swings, roundabouts, boxing, and all the
paraphernalia of a pleasure lair with its concomitant evils were the
constant scenes witnessed here on Sundays. Mr. Thomas Kirk
(now Curate of St. George's) who was for many years a Missionary
in Battersea, in his report published in the "London City Mission
Magazine," September 1, 1870, states, "that which made this part
of Battersea Fields so notorious was the gaming, sporting, and
pleasure-grounds at the "Bed House" and " balloon" public-
houses, and Sunday fairs, held throughout the Summer months.
These have been the places of resort of hundreds and thousands,
from royalty and nobility down to the poorest pauper and the
meanest beggar. And surely if ever there was a place out of hell
which surpassed Sodom and Gomorrah in ungodliness and abomina-
tion this was it. Here the worst men and the vilest of the human
race seemed to try to outvie each other in wicked deeds. I have
gone to this sad spot on the afternoon and evening of the Lords'
day, when there have been from 60 to 120 horses and donkeys
racing, foot-racing, walking matches, flying boats, flying horses,
roundabouts, theatres, comic actors, shameless dancers, conjurors,
fortune-tellers, gamblers of every description, drinking booths,
stalls hawkers, and vendors of all kinds of articles. It would
take a more graphic pen than mine to describe the mingled shouts
and noises and the unmentionable doings of this pandemonium on
earth. I once asked the pierman ' how many people were landed
on Sunday from that pier?' He told me that according to tho
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weather, he had landed from 10,000 to 15,000 people! This influx
was besides that by the various land roads by which hundreds of
thousands used to come, till the numbers have sometimes been
computed at 40,000 and 50,000." Mr. Thomas Cubitt, in
1843, suggested to Her Majesty's Commission for Improving the
Metropolis the advisability of laying Battersea Fields out aspleasure-
grounds, and this design was subsequently pressed upon their
attention by the Hon. and Eev. Eobert John Eden. An Act of
Parliament passed in 1846 empowered Her Majesty's Commissioners
of Woods to form a Eoyal Park in Battersea Fields. Acts to
enlarge their powers were passed in 1848, 1851 and 1853, by which
a Commission, incorporated as the Battersea Park Commission was
appointed with power to sell, demise or lease lands not required for
the park. Mr. (afterwards Sir) James Pennethorme's plan was
approved, by which 320 acres were to be enclosed at an estimated
cost of £154,250. The fields were entirely overflowed by the river
at high water, until about three hundred years ago when an
embankment was raised, and the land reclaimed.* Bray ley referring
* It was a miserable swamp, said to have been gained for the parish of Batter-
sea by the act of charitably burying a drowned man there who had been refused
sepulture in the adjoining parish. This act was held in a subsequent law-suit to
prove a right of ownership, and thus a good deed was amply recompensed.
On the northern side of the river Thames is conspicuously situated that grand
national asylum for decayed and maimed soldiers known as Chelsea Hospital.
This Hospital was begun by Chailes II-, carried on by James II. , and completed
by William III. in 1690. The first projector of Chelsea Hospital was Stephen
Fox, grandfather to the Hon. Charles Fox. " He could not abear," he said " to
see these soldiers, who had ventured their lives, and spent their strength in the
service of their country, reduced to beg." And with the munificence of a
philanthropist, he subscribed £13,000 towards the establishmant of the Hospital.
It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, at a cost of ^150,000, on the site of an
old theological college escheated to the Crown. In 1850 there were 70,000 out
and 539 in pensioners. The body of the Duke of Wellington lay here in state
10-17 Nov., 1852. Ranelagh Gardens lay at the northern foot of Vauxhall
Bridge, a portion now forming the pleasure-grounds of Chelsea Hospital, and
were formerly the gardens of Lord Ranelagh's Mansion. They were opened
1733. The amusement were masquerades, illuminated and day-light fetes,
dancing, music, and promenading, which was continued until the end of the
century. The grand rotundo, which somewhat resembled the Pantheon of Rome,
had an external diameter 185 feet, the internal 150. It was taken down in
1805. In Cheyne Walk was a famous Coffee-House, first opened in 1695, Dv one
Salter a barber, who drew the attention of the public by the eccentricity of his
conduct, and furnished his house with a large collection of natural and other
, curiosities. Admiral Munden and other officers who had been much on the Coast
of Spain enriched it with many curiosities and gave the owner the name of Don
Saltero, by which he is mentioned more than once in the " Tatler,'' particularly
in No. 34. This coffee-house was frequented by Richard Cromwell and many of
the wits and authors of that day. " The Folly," a gilded barge where music and
dancing and other amusements delighted the beaux and belles of the day of the
Restoration, was moored in the Thames not far from the Modern Cremorne.
Adjoining Chelsea Hospital is the Physic Garden belonging to the Company of
Apothecaries, which was enriched with a great variety of plants, both indigenous
and exotic, and given in 1721 by Sir Hans Sloane, Bart., on condition of their
paying a quit-rent of £$, and delivering annually to the Royal Society fifty
specimens of different sorts of plants of the growth of this garden till the number
amounted to 2,000. In 1733 the Company erected a marble statue of the donor,
by Rysbrack, in the centre of the garden, the front of which was conspicuously
marked toward the river by two noble cedars of Lebanon, the first ever planted
in England, of which only one remains. Sir Hans Sloane was born at Killileagh
in the north of Ireland, in 1660, of Scottish extraction. He retired at the age of
•
81*
to this period says, "The land reclaimed went to the Lord of the
Manor, hut was subject to some ill-defined rights of inter-common-
age exercised by the inhabitants of Battersea at stated periods of
the year. From various causes these rights have been nearly ex-
tinguished and most of the land is now held by different proprietors,
and partly let for building and other uses." Wild flowers grew
abundantly in Battersea Fields.* A learned botanist in the last
eighty to Chelsea, to enjoy a peaceful tranquility, the remains of a well-spent life.
He died Jan. it, 1752. He published the «' History of Jamaica" in 2 vols, folio.
In the churchyard is the monument of Sir Hans Sloane, Bait., founder of the
British Museum ; and on the south-west corner of the church is affixed a mural
monument to the memory of Dr. Edward Chamberlayne, with a punning Latin
epitaph, which for its quaintness, may detain the reader's attention. In the church
is a still more curious Latin epitaph on his daughter ; from which we learn, that, on
the 30th of June, 1690, she fought, in men's clothing, six hours against the French,
on board a fire-ship under the command of her brother. The Chelsea Embank-
ment extends along the north bank of the river from Chelsea Hospital to Albert
Suspension Bridge ; it was opened 9th may, 1874, by the Duke and Duchess of
Edinburgh, Lieut. Col. Sir James Magnaghten Hogg, M.P., Chairman of the
Metropolitan Board of Works; Sir Joseph Bazalgette, C.B., Engineer. A.
beautiful view of Chelsea Embankment with its adjacent buildings may he had
from the broad Boulevard running along the river-side in Battersea Park; in-
cluding the lofty spire of St. Luke's Church, Old Chelsea Church, the Gardens
of the Apothecaries' Company, the fine old trees and picturesque Dutch-like
houses of Cheyne Walk, the Gardens and Buildings of Chelsea Hospital, the
New Barracks beyond, and the lofty Pumping Station and Tower near Grosvenor
Road Station.
* We are acquainted with an aged gentleman well skilled in medical botany
who in the e*rly part of his professional experience used to have gathered certain
choice herbs for therapeutic purposes which grew abundantly in this locality.
The following are the names of some of the indigenous plants : —
Circea intetiana — Enchanter's Night Shade (in the lane from the fields to the
Prince's Head, Battersea, uncommon in shady lanes). Valeriana dioica — Small
Marsh Valerian. Fedia olitoria — Corn Salad (dry banks Battersea Fields and
Lavender Sweep). Panicum Vertiullatum — Rough Panic Grass (rare). P.
Viride— Green Panic Grass (near the Red House and Nine Elms). P. Crus-
galli— Loose Panic Grass (near the footpath). Bromus diandrus — Upright
Annual Broom Grass (rare, on an old wall near Battersea Church). Avena
Jlavescens — Yellow Oat-Grass (not common, in the footpath from Battersea
Bridge to Lavender Hill). Myosotis palustris — Great Water Scorpion Grass or,
Forget me not, (ditches and marshy grounds ; plentiful in Battersea Fields). An
elegant plant, the emblem of affection among the Germans. Lithospermum
arvense — Corn Gromwell, (Battersea Cornfields; not common). Primula
vulgatis—¥x\mxosz. P. Vcris — Cowslip (Fields on Lavender Hill). Hottonia
palustris — Water Violet, (plentiful in Latchmere). Scirpus Triquettr — Triangular
Club Rush, rare, (Banks of the Thames between Vauxhall and Battersea \.
Lysimachia vulgaris— Great Yellow Loose Strife. Samolus valerandi — (Brook
Weed, Water Pimpernel). Chenopodium bonus Henricus — English Mercury.
C-olidum — Fetid Goosefoot, (rare). Cicuta Virosa — Water Hemlock, (deadly
poison to men and cattle). Conium Macu latum— Common Hemlock, (a very
dangerous plant). QZnanthe fistulosa — Water Dropwort. (E, crocata — Hemlock
Water Dropwort, (deadly poison to men and cattle). (E. Phellandrium — Fine-
leaved Water Dropwort, (a very poisonous plant). Smymium Olusatrum —
Alexanders, (waste grounds near old houses). Ornithogalum umbellatum — Star
of Bethlehem. Rumex Sanguineus — Blood-veined Dock, (rare, bank of a ditch
on Lavender Hill, between the Nursery and the footpath). R. pulcher — Fiddle
Dock. R. palustris — Yellow Marsh Cock. R. Hydrolapathum — Great Water
Dock. Triglochin palustre— Marsh Arrow Grass. Alisma plantago— Water
Plantain, (ponds and marshes). Polygonum Bistorta — Bistort, or Snake Weed.
Butomus umbellatus— Flowering Rush. Saxifraga granulata — White Saxifrage.
S. Ifidactylites — Rue-leaved Saxifrage. Sedum reflexum — Reflex Yellow Stone-
crop. Lychnis flos Cuculi — Meadow Lychnis. Chelidonium majus — Celandine.
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centmy compiled a flora of Battersea, and many of the plants
that luxuriated in these fields were not to be met with elsewhere,
except at places much farther from London. Its surface was raised
by a million cubic yards of earth from various sources, particularly
from the London Docks (Victoria) Extension. The Park comprises
198 acres, was purchased at a cost of £246,517, and laid out in
1852-58 at a further cost of £66,373. In 1857 planting was com-
menced. Up to this period the works had been executed under
Mr. Pennethorne, Architect of the Office of Works, when the late
Mr. Farrow was appointed to take charge and complete the un-
finished works. The park has a grass surface of nearly 66 acres.
About 40 acres are set apart for cricket and croquet. There are
two match grounds, which, together, admit of seven matches being
played at the same time. On these grounds between 600 and 700
matches are played annually. The spaces are asigned by ballot.
There is a practice-ground for organized adult cricket clubs, on
which from 70 to 90 cricket clubs practice on different days ; and a
general practice ground, appropriated to schools and junior clubs,
and the public generally. The season for cricket is from 1st May
to 30th September. Other large spaces are used for the drill and
exercise of troops stationed at Chelsea Barracks. Various volunteer
corps as also the district police are drilled here. The park contains
one of the richest collections of shrubs and trees in or near London.
Its soil is specially suited to the rose, so that visitors who take
delight in the queen of the English garden resort to the rosary.
The Sub-tropical Garden opened in August, 1864, is nearly four
acres in extent. It is situated at the head of the ornamental water
Palaver dubium — Long Smooth-headed Poppy. Stratiotes aloides — Water
Aloe. lhalictrutn flavum — Common Meadow Rue. Nepeta Cataria — Cat
Mint. Lamium incisum — Cut- leaved dead Nettle. Scutellaria galericulata —
Common Scull Cap. Prunella vulgaris — Self Heal. Pedicularis palustris —
Tall Red Rattle. Antirzhinum Cymbalaria — Joy-leaved Snapdragon. A,
spurium — Round-leaved Fluellin or Snapdragon. A. orontium — Lesser Snap-
dragon, (Cornfields, etc., Battersea Fields. Cocklearia armoracia — Horse
Raddish. Nasturtum amphibium — Amphibious Yellow Cress. Sisymbrium-
irio — Broad Hedge Mustard. S. sophia— Fine-leaved Hedge Mustard. Ery»
simum Cheiranthoides — Worm-seed Treacle Mustard. Geranium pratense —
Blue Meadow Crane's Bill. G. Pobertianum— Kerb Robert. G. Lucidum —
Shining Crane's Bill. G. pyrenaicum— Perennial Dove's-foot Crane's Bill. G.
rotundifolium — Soft Round-leaved Crane's Bill, (by the road side near the Prince's
Head, Battersea. Malva rotundifolia — Dwarf Mallow. Lathyrus aphaca —
Yellow Vetching. Ervum hirsutum — Hairy Tare, (Osier ground near Battersea).
Trifolium fragiferum— Strawberry-headed Trefoil. Hypericum humifusum —
Trailing St. John's Wort. H. pulchrum— Small upright St. John's Wort.
Jragnopogon pratensis—YeUow ; Goat's Beard. Cichorium Intybus— Wild
Endive; or, Succory. Onopordum Acanthium — Common Cotton Thistle.
Bidens <r*r«H«— Nodding Bur-Marygold. Tusslago Petasites—Bxiiter Bur.
Orchis morio and maculata are said to have been found in Battersea Meadows.
Listera ovata — Common Twayblade. Typha augustifolia — Lesser Cat's Tail;
or, Reedmace. Sparganium ramosum — Branched Bur-Reed. Carex dioica —
Common Separate-headed Carex. C. remota — Remote Carex. C. riparia —
Common Bank Carex. Sagittaria sagittifolia — Arrow Head. Mercurial is
annua — Annual Mercury. Equisetum limosum — Smooth naked Horsetail.
See a catalogue of the rarer species of indigenious plants which have been
observed growing in the vicinity of Clapham ; systematically arranged according
to their class and order, with a reference to the figures in English Botany, printed
in a deeply interesting work entitled " Clapham and its Environs," by David
Batten. J
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surrounded by sloping banks, parterres and rolling lawns. In this
region flourish palms, tree-ferns, plants with large leaves, gigantic
grasses, and the climbers and creepers of Equatorial forests and
jungles. India-rubber trees, castor-oil plants, Japauese honey-
suckle, Chinese privet, the banana of Abyssinia recalling the
expedition to Magdala ; the papyrus plant of Egypt, the veritable
bulrush of the Nile, the beautiful scarlet foliage of the dragon's
blood tree from South America, the large-leaved tobacco plant, the
caladium esculentum from the West Indies, the neottopteris australis
etc., besides a variety of other vegetable forms from the tropics.
Eastward of the Sub-tropical Garden is situated the Peninsula,
containing some of the choicest combinations of floral work,
resembling in pattern the most exquisite tapestry. The Al \ane point
gives a minature representation of the valleys and mountain-peaks
of Alpine scenery. Several little hills are so arranged as to show
in miniature the ascending zones of vegetation, beginning with the
low warm plains with palms, and leading up to snow-clad heights.
The snow is represented by gnaphalium tementosum. The lake,
rocks, waterfalls and landscapes are truly picturesque, being so
arranged as to produce the most pleasing effect.
The ornamental water covers 23 acres of ground, with an average
depth of 2 J feet. Ornithological specimens of the web-footed
class afford sport for the aged as well as for the young who feed the
aquatic birds with cake, biscuit and crumbs of bread. Besides a
large colony of Moorhens that have settled down in these friendly
waters may be seen Chinese, Egyptian and Barnacle geese, and
Carolina and Moscovy ducks ; also
" The Swan, with arch'd neck
Between her white wings mantling proudly, rows
Her state with oary feet "
The lark, the linnet, the thrush, the black-bird join in chorus to fill
the air with their bird-song. At night passers-by are charmed
with the sweet, rich mellow notes of
"The merry nightingale,
That crowds, and hurries, and precipitates,
With fast thick warble his delicious notes,
As if he were fearful that an April night
Would be too short for him to utter forth
His love chant.' Coleridge.
It may not be uninteresting for the naturalist to know that larva
of the goat moth {cosbus ligniperda) inhabits poplars and willows in
Battersea Park. This park too is considered famous for the congrega-
tion of vast flocks of starlings just before their migration.
Boating here is a safe and enjoyable amusement. Skiffs are one
shilling per hour, party boats eighteenpence. In Winter, when the
water is frozen over, it is quite an area for skaters.
The lake is an artificial one, and is fed partly from the Thames
and partly by a steam engine fixed for the purpose of supplying
the park with water for the lodges, drinking-fountains, roads,
flower-beds, etc.
The Gymnasium is in the South-western portion of the park.
On the adjacent sward Sunday and other schools may hold their
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Annual treats. In the space thus appropriated preaching is allowed
and public meetings are permitted.
Nearly at the centre of the Peninsula there is a reservoir which
is excavated below the level of the neighbouring springs. The
water from this self-supplied source is as clear as crystal; it is
pumped into an elevated tank above the engine house which holds
20,000 gallons, from which rre laid service pipes for the supply of
the park.
The avenue occupies a central position of the park ; the trees
are the English elm. This affords an enjoyable and shady
promenade.
The horse ride or equestrian road, about forty feet wide, nearly
encircles the park and is almost two miles in length. Here is also
an excellent carriage drive separate from the latter by a row of
young plane trees. There are numerous seats in the park for the
accommodation of the public. Situated in the centre of the park is
a band-stand. The band plays in the Summer and Autumnal
months for the entertainment of those who are fond of instru-
mental music.
There are two refreshment rooms where light refreshments can
be obtained at moderate prices. The lodges too are appropriated to
the public and offer refreshments and cloak-rooms.
The advantage of a river frontage possessed by Battersea Park
is shown by the fact that upwards of 12,000 persons have landed at
the Park Pier on fine Summer days. On Sundays, when Chelsea
Bridge is free, in fine weather, 40,000 or 50,000 people have been
in the park.
The public owe a tribute of grateful respect to the late Mr. John
Gibson, of Surrey Lane, whose acquaintance with horticulture and
the science of botany was something considerable, who for about
fifteen years was Park Superintendent. That gentleman went on
a Botanical Mission to India for and at the expense of the Duke
of Devonshire. The manner in which portions of the park are
disposed was from designs originally his own. The new rock work
is by Mr. Pulham, of Broxbourne. Mr. Alexander Rogers is at
present Park Superintendent ; Mr. E. W. Partridge, Inspector.
There are twelve Park Constables, viz., Mr. J. Cook, South-east
Lodge ; J. Hawkins, South Lodge ; Edwin Ashby, West Lodge ;
George Weedon, Charles Page, William Jones, James Powell,
J. Pointer, George Dicks, W. Sheppard, Isaac Chamberlain, William
Withers, Mr. Dowly, Foreman of the Gardeners. On an average
about forty gardeners are employed in the park. The park is under
the Commissioners of Works, No. 12, Whitehall*
The park was opened March 28th, 1858.
In 1862 the Royal Agricultural Society of England held their
Annual Show in Battersea Park.
Recently some beautiful villas in Queo i Anne's style have been
built in Albert road.
Opposite the Western gate a site has been chosen for the erection
of a Chapel-of-Ease to St. Mary's.
* On Battersea Park Embankment, near where the Albert Bridge now spans
the river, lies like some ancient ruin the beautiful Portico of Burlington House.
It was when removed from Piccadilly in 1868 to have been re-erected in the Park.
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B5 .
At the angle facing the South-western gate two stately mansions
have recently been erected contiguous to each other, called Lancaster
Tower and Strathedon House.
The two Circular Engine sheds, about 90 yards in diameter,
belonging to the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway
Company, adjacent to the East-end of the Park, Victoria Road,
built about seven years since, show a marked difference to the small
wooden shed they erected some eighteen years ago when they had
convenience for only four engines. The present sheds are very
soundly built, and can accommodate 56 engines which work from
the end of the line, there being 63 engines at work when there is
no extra traffic, which is not very often the case. The locomotive staff
numbers upwards of 300 hands, the major part being drivers,
firemen, and cleaners, who muster 200. They have every facility
for doing work required in a prompt manner. There is an engine-
hoist which will lift an engine of forty or more tons in a very short
time. The break-down van stands in one of the sheds ready at a
moment's notice for any casualty that might happen. This is fitted
up with hydraulic apparatus and every appliance for getting engines
and other vehicles on the line quickly. The method of coaling
engines is very good. Half-ton trolleys are loaded out of the trucks
of coal, which can be moved with ease by one man on the iron-
plated coal stage, from which it is shot on the tender of the engine ;
so that one man can in a few minutes put one or two tons of coal
on a tender. Three hundred tons of coal are kept in stock, and the
weekly consumption is about five hundred tons. The sheds are
remarkably clean, being constantly whitewashed, and the engines,
which are kept clean and fresh painted, to use a figurative ex-
pression, are perfect pictures. The passenger engines are a light
brown color and the goods engines are a dark green. The offices
attached to the sheds are at the entrance in one of the railway
arches, and suit in every way the requirements of the place, and
when inside one would hardly think it was only a railway arch.
Other arches have been fitted up as work-shops for the mechanics,
and another arch is entirely appropriated for the stores. Also an
arch has been utilized so as to form a comfortable mess-room for
enginemen and firemen, with cooking apparatus, lockers, and
lavatory; adjoining which is a room similarly fitted up for the
engine cleaners. Although these works are fraught with many
dangers, it is rarely that any serious casualty occurs. District
Loco. Superintendent, Albany Richardson, Esq. ; Assistant Superin-
tendent, Mr. John Richardson.
There are two guages known as the Stephenson or narrow guage,
4-ft. 8J-in., and the broad guage 7 feet between the rails introduced
by the younger Brunei on the Great Western Railway.
The locomotives on the Brighton and South-Coast Railway are
constructed for the narrow guage. The " Kensington," No. 205,
belonging to the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway
Company, is a four-wheel coupled engine, designed by W. Stroudley,
Esq., Locomotive Engineer. Diameter of cylinders, 17 inches;
stroke, 24 inches ; diameter of driving and trailing wheels, 6 feet
6 inches; leading wheel, 4 feet 3 inches; wheel base, 16 feet;
ft inches; number of tubes, 260 ; diameter of ditto outside, 1 J inch \
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length of ditto, 10 feet 11 J inches; area of fire-grate, 10-25 square
feet; pressure of steam, 140 lbs. per square inch; tube surface,
1,125 square feet; fire-box surface, 112 feet; total surf ace, 1,237.
The total weight of this class of engine and tender when loaded is
about 50 tons, and will convey a load of 236 tons at a speed of 40
miles an hour.
This class of engine was constructed for running the express
traffic, which in the season is very heavy on this line. Cost of
engine about £2500.
"A pint of water is converted into two hundred and sixteen
gallons of steam by two ounces of coal, and has sufficient power to
lift thirty-seven tons; the steam thus produced has a pressure
equal to that of common atmospheric air. By allowing it to
expand, by virtue of its elasticity a further mechanical force may
be obtained, at least equal in amount to the former. A pint of
water therefore, and two ounces of coal are thus rendered capable
of raising seventy-four tons a foot high. Two hundred feet of
steam can be condensed in one second by four ounces of water,
and their expansive power reduced to one-fifth."
The first person who sought to apply the expansive force of steam
as a motive power to machinery was an Egyptian, Hero of
Alexandria, who lived about 15 years before Christ.
In the year 1543, Basco de Garay, a Spanish captain, astonished
the world by asserting that he would propel a vessel without sails
or oars. The Emperor Charles V. ordered the experiment to be
made, and on the 17th of June a vessel called the " Trinity," of
200 tons burden was moved by wheels turned by steam at the rate
of two leagues in three hours. To Spain belongs the honour of
having invented the first steam vessel.
In the annals of the steam-engine are enumerated the names of
Solomon de Caus, Giovanni Branci (1629). Edward Somerset,
(1698). Newcomen, Cawley, Humphrey Potter (an engine boy),
and Smeaton. But it is to the master spirit and inventive genius
ot James Watt the mathematical instrument maker who was born
at Greenock in Scotland. January 19, 1736, that we are indebted
for the high state of efficiency to which our modern steam-engine
has been brought. Matthew Bolton of Birmingham undertook the
enterprise of introducing Watt's condensing engine into general
use as a great working power
Samuel Smiles says, •' Many skilful inventors have from time to
time added new power to the steam-engine ; and by numerous
modifications rendered it capable of being applied to nearly all the
purposes of manufacture — driving machinery, impelling ships,
grinding corn, printing books, stamping money, hammering, planing,
and turning iron ; in short of performing every description of
mechanical labour where power is required. One of the most use-
ful modifications in the engine was that devised by Trevithick, and
eventually perfected by George Stephenson and his Son, in the form
of the railway locomotive, by which social changes of immense
importance have been brought about of even greater consequence,
considered in their results on human progress and civilization than
the condensing engine of Watt."
Tne fetockton and Darlington Railway was oneofthefirst examples
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of locomotive power on a railway for passengers. Mr. Murdock
was the first Englishman who in the year lj£84 constructed a non-
condensing steam locomotive of lilliputian dimensions. It is to be
seen at South Kensington, in the Patent Museum.
Battersea Wharf, belonging to the Brighton, and South-Coast
Eailway Company, close to Chelsea Bridge, combines a water
frontage affording facility for discharging cargoes of goods for and
from all parts of the Brighton, South-Eastern, London, Chatham
and Dover Eailways. The traffic during the last ten years has
very sensibly increased, and the point itself has become an im-
portant place and of great convenience to the public. — Manager,
Mr. William Everest.
The London and Brighton Eailway was opened 21st September,
1841. In 1873, Number of miles open 345; gross receipts for the
same year including 31st December, £1,618,461.
Comparative statement of traffic returns for week ending October
6th, 1877, to corresponding week in 1876. Total miles open 379J.
Ebcetpts, 1877, | Eeceipts, 1876, I Increase,
£40,425. | £37,210. | £3,215.
That part of Battersea known as Long-Hedge Farm which was
kept by a Mr, Matson and afterwards oy Mr. Graham, is now
partially inclosed by the London, Chatham and Dover Eailway
Locomotive Works. The land originally purchased by the Eailway
Company was about 75 acres, and nearly one-half this space is
appropriated to the Locomotive Department and Goods traffic yard.
The Works were built by Messrs. Peto and Betts, from designs
furnished by Joseph Cubitt, Esq., engineer, and finished in the year
1863, (two years ago the erecting shop was enlarged). The name,
however, is still retained and the Works are called Long-Hedge
Works. These Works are surrounded with a wall ten feet high.
There are six gates, but the principal entrance to the Works is at
the gate by the time-keepers office; the other five gates are used
for shunting purposes. Within this enclosure no person is allowed
to go except on business, and this rule is strictly carried out. There
are the boiler-shop, the tender-shop, erecting shop, copper-smiths'
shop, fitting-shop, brass-finishers shop, pattern-makers' shop,
smiths' shop, boiler-house with three large boilers, which drive the
large stationary engine. The whole of these buildings, which
consists of a series of ranges, are substantially built of brick, with
walls of immense thickness. On the south side is the stores de-
partment. At the east-end of the turnery is the Superintendent's
office, clerks' offices, etc. The area between each shop has an inter-
section of rails communicating with the line.
The lower turnery is 250 feet long and 44 wide. It has twenty-
five windows on either side; the dimensions of each window is 12
feet by 3, and a third portion of each window can be opened or
closed at pleasure for ventilation; also three pairs of double doors
of the same height as the windows, and wide enough to admit a
truck or carriage. There are lines of rails laid parallel with the
building, both on the outside and through the centre. Opposite
each of the large doors, both inside and out, are turn tables to
connect the sheps with any part of the yard. The floor is laid with
blocks of wood about five inches square. Around large steam-pipes
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are laid on either side of the shep to add to the comfort and con-
venience of the men. The shaft which gives motion to the machinery
passes through the centre of the shop and the machinery on each
side. Towards one extremity of this range of building is the engine
house, in which are two beautifully-finished high and low pressure
horizontal engines of one hundred horse power, which drive all the
machinery and fan-blasts for smiths. There are three boilers, each
thirty feet long, and six feet in diameter, having pressure of forty
pounds upon every square inch. The shaft belonging to the
stationary engine is forty-seven yards high.
In the lower turnery there is a double-headed slot-wheel, three
large wheel lathes, and two small wheel lathes; the small are for
carriage wheels. There are also three fifteen-inch lathes, two crank
lathes for turning crank axles^ two twelve-inch lathes, two large
boring machines — one of these is a radial machine for boring tube
plates ; one boring machine for cylinders, also one large planing
machine for the same purpose, and one hydraulic press for taking
off axles. On the same basement with the turnery is the Loco.
Manager's office.
Leaving the turnery we ascend a broad and substantial staircase
of wood overlaid with sheet-lead, leading to the fitting-shop which
is over the turning shop. On the same story is the brass-finishers'
and pattern loft. The fitting-shop is light, clean, well ventilated,
and comfortble. Here, as in the shop below, the shafting runs
through the centre with a continuous branch of counter shafts on
one side, extending the entire length of the building. The whole
machinery is propelled by the same engine as that below. In this
shop there is onelarge planing machine, nine shaping machines,
six drilling machines, three slotting machines, one double-headed
slot drill for cutting key-ways in axles, one twelve-inch lathe, four
ten-inch lathes, four eight-inch lathes, two six-inch lathes, one ten-
inch break lathe, six small planing machines of different sizes,
four screwing machines, one nut-cutting machine, two grindstones,
one hoist, twenty pairs of vices, etc., etc. In the brass-fitters' shop
are four six-inch lathes in use for cocks, plugs, injectors, etc.
Length of fitting, brass and pattern shops (inclusive) 406 feet.
The boiler shop is 200feet in length and 48 feet in width. It
has a stationary engine with machiues for punching, dr illin g and
bending the boiler-plates; also a powerful travelling crane, arranged
for conveying boilers from one end of the shop to the other. The
second building on the left-hand-side and facing the turnery is the
erecting shop, 380 feet in length and 100 feet wide. This shop has
a travelling table which runs from one end to the other, and is
worked by a small engine. The use that is made of the table is to
convey those engines which need repairing to the different pits.
There are 42 pits in this shop with room for 42 engines. There are
two travelling cranes above which run on girders ; these are worked
by the hand and are employed for engines. There is also a
small stationary engine for driving drilling machine and grindstone,
and each side has a row of vice-benches extending from one end of
the shop to the other*
Not an uninteresting department is the smithery* Its length is
306 feet and it is 48. feet wide. On entering one seems to have got
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into a region where Vulcan and Ms Cyclops are at worlr, not forging
thunderbolts for Jupiter, but giving shape and form to bars of half -
molten iron, which shall afterwards be used. in the structure of
steam-engines and for other practical purposes. The scene is grand,
and might supply a study for such painters as West, Stothard,
Conway and Northcote. In the back ground is a depth of gloom,
sombrous and murky which is relieved at intervals by the fierce
glare of thirty fires. At as many anvils strong, athletic, Titan-like
figures, with uplifted arm and heavy stroke scatter "as from smitten
steel," sparks like brilliant stars, in all directions. Here are thirty
smiths' forges, and the tools used by the smiths, as tongs, hammers,
swages, etc., are arranged in racks against the walls. Here also
are two steam-hammers, one fifteen tons, the other five tons.
Either can be most scrupulously adjusted by aid of a small lever
Here also are furnaces, a stationary engine with fan, grind-
stone, and powerful shears for cutting bar-iron. Lines of rails run
throughout the shop, so that the coal and iron can be conveyed to
any part where it is required.
A Second Shop for Carriages, Waggons, etc., is being erected at
an estimated cost of nearly £14,000
The carriage shop is 370 feet long, 150 feet wide, 30 feet, high in
the centre, and is capable of containing 80 railway carriages. It is
divided longitudinally into three parts by the two rows of iron
pillars which support the roof. The central division is forty feet
wide and is occupied by the traversing table which is used for shifting
the carriages. The two side divisions are the parts for vehicles
under repairs, and are also occupied by the workmen s' benches, etc.
The roof is composed of a light but strong iron framing covered
first with deal boards, and with slates over all except the central
part, which is composd almost entirely of glass. The floor consists
of wood bricks, laid on a solid foundation of concrete, and is
intersected by the iron rails for the carriages and traverser. At the
south end are the offices, with the trimming shops above them.
The shop is well and efficiently ventilated, and is furnished with a
system of heating apparatus consisting of a double row of large steam-
pipes passing all round under the windows. Water is laid on in ample
quantities, and one of the regulations carried out with unvarying
rule, is to fix hose pipes in two separate parts of the shops every
night with stand pipes ready for instant use in case of fire. There
are 1 30 windows in the shop exclusive of the roof. Most of the
carriages are made of teak instead of mahogany, as being more
durable as well as economical and not so likely to split when exposed
to the heat of the sun
The saw-mills are used for cutting the timber, with rack and
vertical saws. It is then prepared by eleven other different machines,
such as general joiner, rabbeting, grooving, tenoning mortising
boreing and moulding machines, of every description. The timber
is first cut out with the hand-saw, and then shaped by a large
shaping machine 5 feet 4 by 2 feet 10, with two perpendicular
spindles performing upwards of 1200 revolutions a minute. The
saw-mills are well arranged, the driving wheel and shftftiarag being
all underneath. Next to the saw-milto is an engine-house in which
is a horizontal engine of forty horse* power with two large boilers,
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surfy pound* pressure, made by Walter May and Co., Chelsea.
At the west end, and near "Long-Hedge House," is a small
building containing the gas-meter; this, like the water-meter in the
traffic yard, has its index taken every morning to show the amount
of gas that has been consumed in the works.
The stores department consists of a large building, with various
offices for the store keeper, clerks, and warehousemen. One half is
upstairs which is fitted up with shelves, tables and pigeon-holes for
the various articles kept in stock. The lower part is arranged for
heavier goods, such as brass, copper, steel, and iron. There is a
large yard for goods of different descriptions, and for the purpose
of receiving goods brought by carriers, etc. The design of this
department is to keep for immediate use almost eveiy article used
on a railway, to supply all the departments with materials for the
making and keeping of the line in good condition, and to forward
the goods as required to their destination on the line, and the
quality of the goods is there determined before received for use.
In the running sheds engines are cleaned and running engines
kept repaired, etc.* There are 82 locomotives, 65 of which are daily
running on the line. Since the opening of the Ludgate Station on
the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Metropolitan Extension
line a very considerable portion of the Goods traffic is carried on
at Blackfriars. — Locomotive Superintendent, W. Kirdey, Esq.
Works Manager, Mr. G. Leavers; Manager of Carriage Department,
Inspector, etc., Mr. C. Spencer; Superintendent of Stores Department
Mr. John Ward.
♦Since the above was written, the semi- circular Engine Shed has been pulled down
and a very large quadrangular Engine Shed constructed in its place. The former
shed was inconveniently small and not at all adapted to the present emergency.
It has been demonstrated by Mr. Kirtley that the system which has been so
popular (with Locomotive Superintendents) in the early days of railways of using
a turn-table or revolving platform for turning locomotives into the direction re-
quired in sheds where they undergo repairing, cleaning, etc., was at all times
liable to cause not only delay in the departure of one engine, but in the event of
mishap to the turn-table itself, the whole stock of engines would be locked up;
hence the erection of the splendid new engine shed at the London, Chatham and
Dover Railway Locomotive Works, which is said to be one of the finest and most
commodious of its kind in England. It stands upon about if acres, and some
idea of its magnitude may be realized from some of the principal materials used
in its construction: namely, 40,000 cubic yards excavation; 6,000 cubic yards
concrete; about 3J million of bricks, besides 250,000 blue paving bricks of the
Staffordshire hard manufacture which form the flooring; 30,000 feet of glass;
60,000 feet of slating, 260 tons of iron, and over three acres of boards which form
the roof, andthe newly-iuvented steam and smoke conductors designed by Messrs.
Mills and Kirtey. There are also offices for the foremen of each department,
and separate mess-rooms for the men of various grades employed, wherein their
every comfort has been carefully studied, with lavatories, cooking apparatus, etc.
Besides boiler-house and standing engine for driving machinery, etc. Also a tank
of enormous capacity, made by Spencerlayh and Archer, of Rochester, to supply
the engines with water from a well of considerable depth in case of failure of the
regular supply from the Water Company's Works. There is also a new coal stage,
built upon an entirely new principle, from which engines can be loaded with the
necessary supply of coals in less than half the time previously occupied, with a
similar diminution of labour. Another great feature in the approach to these
Works is that the roads, sixteen in number, all lead from one line of rails. Each
road, with pit in the engine shed, will hold five main-line locomotives or seven
tank engines. The whole building will hold between eighty and ninety locomotives.
The Works have been designed by Mr. W. Mills, C.E., and carried out by Mr.
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The number of operatives employed inclusive of drivers afid fir^ *
men is about 600. The men are intelligent and orderly ; they, with
myriads of their fellow-countrymen, are assisting in carrying out
the great practical issues of civilization. Of such a class of noble-
minded, generous-hearted, skilled mechanics and artisans, England
may well be proud.
" What says each true workman, where're he may toil
As bravely he joins in life's busy turmoil,
With each sinew brac'd stoutly by duty and love,
And the gaze of his soul fixed on heaven above.
Oh I'm king of a line of long renown,
And the sweat of my brow is my diamond crown ;
I toil unrepining from morn till night,
For I bear in my bosom a heart brave and light,
And my labour no matter how hard it may be,
Brings ever a joy and a blessing to me."
The London Chatham and Dover Eailway was opened 29th
of September, 1860. Number of miles open 141. Gross Eeceipts
including 31st December, 1873, £904,509,
The first railway train (London, Chatham and Dover) entered
the city of London over the new Railway Bridge, Blackfriars, 6th
October, 1864.
Adjacent to the Eailway Viaduct and facing the south-eastern
gate of Battersea Park is Sargent's Carpet Ground. Here during
the Summer and Autumnal months a Gospel tent is pitched wherein
Special Eeligious Services for the people are conducted by Messrs
Simmonds, Swindells, Waller, Eigley, Harris, Smith, Hewett,
Crosby, Turpin, Twaites, Kirby, Eeeve, Thompson, Eveleigh, Lane,
and other well-known christian workers.
Extracted from the Kensington News. — Amidst the various styles of
ecclesiastical architecture which our modern amalgamation of various
civilizations has produced, none strikes one as so peculiar as that
which is called the preaching tent. Associated as this moveable
structure is with the wandering life of the Eastern Arab, its con-
secration to purposes of modern Christian envangelization is a proof
of the intense catholicity and energy of our modern religious life.
While thousands of our home heathen never enter the sacred pre-
cincts of our churches or chapels, it is a blessing to find that they
enter by hundreds inside the temporary canvas walls of our con-
secrated gospel tents. Very often the surroundings of the locality
Charles Dickinson, the Contractor, and his Agent, Mr. D. Stubbings, and under
the immediate superintendence of Mr. R. S. Jones, C. E., the engineer in charge
of the works. Although nine months have only elapsed from the time of the
demolition of the former structure to the erection of the New Engine Shed, etc.,
it is gratifying to state that under a merciful Providence no casualty such as might
have been expected considering the number of locomotives running in and out
daily has occured. Mr. W, Wilkinson is foreman of this Branch of the Loco-
motive Department.
Foremen, {Locomotive Department).
Erecting Shop .. J. Fletcher.
Fitting „ . . W. Siddon.
Turning „ , , T. Eaton.
Smith „ . . R. Allen.
Boiler „ • . W. Benton.
Foremen, {Carriage Department)
Painters' Shop . . W. Banks.
Coach-builders' ~ "
Fitters'
Trimmers'
Saw-mill
Waggon
Gr. Faulkner.
W. Churchill.
J. Gallop.
C. Picton.
F. Laraman.
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Vhere these places are erected, {he kind of services held in them,
and the earnestness, homeliness, humanity, and appropriateness of
the illustrations of the preachers who discourse at them, have beyond
question, great attractions for the class of our Metropolitan inhabi-
tants just mentioned. It calls for no surprise to find gigantic tempo-
rary structures of this kind erected amidst the uncultivated and
populous "East" for the purposes of religious worship, but we
hardly expect to find their tapering canvas roofs amidst the luxury
of the "West."
But in these days of change, and strange things, we are not easily
surprised, and consequently we passed by gospel tents at Kilburn
and Kentish Town without expressing much wonder. Having a
desire to see how the un-church and un-chapel going population of
this mighty metropolis spent their Sunday out doors, we strolled to
the classic ground of Chelsea and found ourselves on the north side
of the bridge. This spot has been for several years the scene of
rather unclassical and disorderly debates, and open air preaching.
This arena of intellectual life was rather dull on this occasion; there
was only the ordinary open air service and a few groups of the
usual unintelligent and sceptical wranglers. Seeing nothing worthy
in what we witnessed to detain us at this place, we strolled over the
bridge, towards the canvas cathedral, which has lately been erected
there. Having reached the middle of the bridge, the floating
banners in the distance clearly indicate the locality where this place
of public worship rears its canvas walls, and as we approach nearer
we find the well known words "God is Love" neatly inscribed on
one of them. At this portion of the road our attention is arrested
by a few of the church-going population outside the entrance to
Battersea Park, gathered round some open air preachers. At last
we reach the south-eastern gate of Battersea Park, opposite which
is the front of the canvas cathedral a substantial tent, capable of
holding about 300 people. (The tent will seat 200). We were very
much surprised to find at one of the entrances a well-executed and
coloured diagram of the famous Babylonish temple of the Seven
Spheres. We saw from the crowded nature of the audience that the
service on this occasion was a very special one, for not only was the
tent full but large groups of people surrounded the entrances. A
small bill informed us that Mr. O. M. Turpin, a gentleman in
connexion with the Christian Evidence Society, was to preach this
evening on Modern Discoveries and the Bible, illustrated with dia-
grams. As we entered the interior of the cathedral, we noticed hung
behind the preacher a number of nicely drawn and strikingly
coloured diagrams representing views of Nineveh,Babylon,Nimroud,
slabs discovered in their ruined palaces, a page of the annals of an
Assyrian monarch, representations of a beseiged city, and a copy of
the Moajtite stone.
The service was very sinple in its character. It consisted of a few
devout extempore prayers, reading a portion of Scripture, and the
singing (accompanied with an harmonium) of some of Sankey's
hymns. As may be imagined, oulr curiosity was excited as to how
the preacher could make a sermon containing anything spiritual
profitable to his hearers out of the pictures behind him. The
portion of Scripture selected for his text only stimulated our curiosity
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for It was the beautiful words of our Lord contained in John c. 17
v. 17, "Sanctify them through thy truth; Thy word is truth."
One felt inclined to say "Sanctification and pictures ; a great deal
of sanctification the preacher will get out of them for his audience."
No sooner, however, has the preacher got into his introduction than
the connection between his diagrams and his text is clearly apparent,
for he ^ as evidently going to talk about the truth of God's word as
contained in the Bible. The text was divided into two parts ; first
the assertion that God's word was truth ; secondly, the instrument
of His people's sanctification. In treating of the first division of
his discourse the preacher gave forth some very clear ideas on some
of the most difficult topics, for revelation, the instrument through
which it ought to come and the form by which it was to be trans-
mitted to humanity in after ages, were all noticed, and men as the
media, and the book as the written record, and not oral tradition,
were shown to manifest the wisdom and condescension of God.
"The Christian Church," said the preacher, claims that in the Bible
they have a revelation of God's mil, and the sublime idea of God
in the possession of the Jews plainly proved that it came from God's
own revelation. But objectors exist, and modern doubt cast suspicion
on the sacred records. What then is the voice of modern discoveries?
Is it for or against the credibility of the sacred record ? In favour
of reposing trust in its statements, for modern science and discovery
and exploration have proved the truth of all the historical and
geographical details of the Bible, removed many of its historical
difficulties, and by its identification of sites of cities which were the
subject of prediction, proved its fulfilment and thus borne testimony
to the supernatural in the Bible. These propositions were supported
by a vast array of facts drawn from the traditions of mankind, the
newly-discovered palaces and libraries of Assyria, and the scholar's
translation of its day and stone records.
When the preacher treated the second portion of his theme,
the intensely practiced nature of his mind was clearly shewn in the
way in which while asserting God's truth to be the instrument of
the sanctification, he appealed to all present in a most solemn
manner to put the important question — "Were they sanctified ?"
"If you are not you will never tread the golden streets of the New
Jerusalem, but while your friends are passing in you will be shut
out." Mr. Turpin evidently had the whole of his audience in his
mind, for at the end of his discourse he pressed home on the
juvenile portion of his audience the beauty of early piety by a
contrast between the dying chimney-sweep and Lord Byron in which
the character of the sweep shone to the disadvantage of the cele-
brated poet. Another hymn and prayer closed the interesting
canvas cathedral service. Those present, both old and young,
evidently enjoyed the service, for they listened with breathless
attention for the 100 minutes which the preacher had occupied in
delivering his glowing discourse. A brief prayer meeting closed
this instructive Sunday evening, which if we may judge from the
expressions of some of the audience, will not soon be forgotten. As
we retired we felt that many such canvas cathedrals, with able
preachers and hearty singing, would lay hold of large numbers of
those who are at present outside ordinary religious influences*
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The tent was purchased expressly for this object by Basil Woodd
Smith, Esq., a warm and devoted Mend of the working classes and
who is a member at present of the Parent Committee of the London
City Mission. The tent was originally erected on the triangular
piece of ground outside the south-eastern gate of Battersea Park
before the roads were completed, with the sanction of Lord John
Manners when his Lordship was in office as Chief Commissioner.
Among other respectable firms in the building trade within the
Parish may be mentioned the firm of Messrs. Lathey Brothers,
Builders, 1, St. George's Eoad, New Road. Messrs. Lathey
Brothers were the builders of St. George's Vicarage House, Christ
Church Schools and Residences, Infant School in Orkney Street,
St. Saviour's Church, the enlargement of St. George's Church, and
the enlargement of St. George's National Schools. Also a Mortuary
built in 1876 in the Churchyard of St. Mary's from designs by Mr.
W. "White, Architect, and the re-interment of all coffins, 1875, in
the vaults or crypt under the church 424 in all. Some of these
coffins were brought here from St. Bartholomew's Church, Royal
Exchange, in the city of London, in 1840. A Record was made of
the Inscriptions on all the coffins which were re-interred. This
document, which is in the possession of Messrs. Lathey Bros., would
form an interesting Obituary if published.
The H.P. Horse Nail Company's (Limited) Factory, New Road,
has at present machinery capable of turning out one million nails
per day. With the exception of a few mechanics most of the
employes are young women. Of late years horse nails have
become an important branch of industry and a leading article in
trade, the consumption, indeed, being very large ; and when it is
considered that each horse has in its four hoofs 28 or 30 nails, and
that these nails are wearing out all day and all night, and require
renewing about every month, and that in Great Britain and
Ireland there are at the present time not less than 3,000,000 horses,
representing a demand exceeding a thousand million nails per
annum the trade is entitled to rank with others in importance and
influence. Mr. J. A. Huggett, the inventor of the Patent Machinery
employed at this factory for the manufacture of horse nails, has hit
the right nail on the head, the quality of the nails having met with
the general approval of veterinary surgeons, farriers, and iron-
mongers. The quality of the iron of which the nails are manu-
factured has its perfection attributed to three causes: — First, it is
the best Sweedish charcoal iron ; secondly, it is heated in the
Siemens furnace ; and lastly, which certainly is not the least
important, it passes through a rolling-mill worked by steam power,
each roller weighs about ten cwt. — Manager, Charles Moser, Esq.
Hugh Wallace's Vitriol Works were situated in the New Road;
Schofield and Co's Steam Saw-Mills and Stone Works, Stewart's
Lane. The saw frames are worked by fly wheels and connecting
shafts so constructed that the frame is always level be it ever so
high a block sawing ; this is done by lengthening or shortening the
shaft. By some persons the frames are considered the easiest
working ones in London. The moulding machines are by Hunter,
Queen's Road, Battersea, specially adapted for string courses and
steps. About eighty men and boys are employed at these works*
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9*5
ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, Battersea— The following particulars
respecting this Church may not be uninteresting. The Hying is a
vicarage of the yearly value of £240 with residence in the gift of
Trustees.
The Chapel-of-Ease, as St.' George's was called, in Battersea
Fields, w^ built partly* by a rata and partly by grant front tha
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«6
Parliamentary Oommiasionen at acoet of £2,819; it is a neat building
in the style of English, architecture, by Edward Blore, Esq.,
Architect. Its erection began September 18, 1827. It was con-
secrated August 5th, 1828, by Dr. Sumner, Lord Bishop of Win-
chester, and the fust church his Lordship consecrated in his diocese.
The Bev J. Gk Weddell was the first clergyman appointed. He
held the living twenty-five years: died June, 1852. Within this
hallowed sanctuary the venerable, esteemed and truly honoured
servant of Christ the Bev. John Garwood, late Secretary of the
London City Mission, laboured as curate in charge for nine years
previous to Mr. WeddelPs death. The Bev. H. B. Poer was
appointed in 1852. It was made a District Church in 1858. The
churchyard was closed as a burial ground in 1858. The Bev. E. S.
Goodhart was appointed in 1859 : he remained ten months. The
Bev. Burman Oassin was appointed in 1860 : he resigned and was
instituted at St. Paul's, Bolton, 1872: he preached his last (vale-
dictory) sermon December 81, 1872, at a watch-night service.
The Kev. John Calliswas appointed January, 1878. During his
time the Church underwent alterations. These were begun August
24, 1874, when the side galleries were removed and the church
enlarged by the addition of two isles at the cost of £1,700. The
church will accommodate 800. The church was re-opened by the
Bight Beverend Harold Browne, Lord Bishop of Winchester,
November 21st, 1874, at 4 o'clock p.m. The Bev. John Callis left
for South Heigham, Norwich, July, 1875.
The Bev. Thomas Lander, M.A., now holds the living, he was
appointed August, 1875. The Bev. T. Kirk ordained and appointed
Curate to St. George's, September 24th, 1876. Previously to his
ordination he had laboured for twenty-six years in connection with
the London City Mission, and was much beloved and respected in
the district among the people to whom he has been and still is so
much blessed.
The population of the Ecclesiastical parish in 1871 was 16,172.*
The register dates from the year 1858. The area is 448 acres. —
John Gwynn, Samuel Lathey, Churchwardens.
* St. Andrew's Temporary Iron Church, Patmore Street, was opened on St.
Andrew's Day, Saturday, Nov. 30, 1878, by the Bishop of Guildford, late Dr.
Utterton. The persons who took part in the service were Canon Clarke, Revs.
Lander, Hamilton and Kirk. Rev. G. Hamilton is the Mission Clergyman.
Some few years ago a gentleman offered to put up a Church in South London.
St. George's Parish, Battersea, was named as being in need of one. A short
time after the promise was made the gentleman died. His widow anxious to
carry out her deceased husband's intentions, set apart the amount for the purchase
and removal of the Iron Church, which then stood in Chelsea.
According to the census of 188 1, the inhabited houses and population of
Battersea were as follows : —
Number of Number of
Inhabited Houses. Inhabitants.
St. Mary's 3758 24595
Christ Church •• « 9 ,, 201 1 — 14404
St. Peter's •• .. .. 1183 — 8919
St. John's •• •• 99 1068 — 7069
St. Saviour's • 1747 — 14172
St. Philip's ,, .. .. 2444 — 17428
St. George's 2380 — 20612
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€ f I love her gates, I love the toad ;
The church adorned with grace
Stands like a palace built for God
To show his milder face. — Watts.
At the east end of the interior and south of the pulpit a white
marble tablet mounted on a dark marble slab has recently been
erected. Within a wreath of virgin marble most artistically executed
is the following epitaph engraved. "In memory of Elizabeth
Maria Graham, of dapham Common, died December 14, 1874,
aged 79, through whose devoted and indefatigable labours this
Church, the Vicarage, and Mission-room were built and the St.
George's Schools were founded. ' The love of Christ constraineth
us.' — 2nd Cor. v. 14. 'JThe harvest truly is great but the labourers
are few, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would
send forth labourers into His harvest.' " — Luke x. 2.
"They that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the
Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was
written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought
upon his name. And they shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts,
in that day when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them,
as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." — Malachi iii. 16-17*
In St. George's Churchyard the ground has been levelled and the
hillocks have disappeared to make it resemble more a garden or
field with flat grassy surface studded here and there with shrubberies
than a receptacle of the dead, there are however some " sacred
memorial," a few grave stones etc., which indicate to the passer-by
that this was formerly used as a place of interment. We will just
pause to read some of the inscriptions. At the east-end of the church-
yard is the vault of the Rev. John Grenside Weddell, twenty-five years
pastor of this flock, who died the 23d of July, 1852, aged75 years.
" I have sinned but Christ hath died."
Also in the same vault are the remains of Caroline the beloved wife
of the Eev. J. G. Weddell, who died the 22nd of December 1839,
aged 64 years.
" Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." —
Hebrews xiii. 7.
A few yards from this spot a head-stone is erected "Sacred to
the memory of Mrs. Ann Piittick of Nine Elms, who departed this
life Oct. 5th, 1855, aeed 64 years. Also of Henry her beloved
husband, interred at the Cemetery, Battersea. "Even so Father
for so it seemed good in thy sight."
Here is a vault sacred to the memory of Leonora the wife of John
Charles McMullens, Esq., of Lavender Hill, in this parish, who
died 24th June, 1813, aged 35 years. The epitaph states,
" Faithful and meek she bore the will
Of Him who to a troubled sea,
In powerful words said ' peace be still,'
My grace sufficient is for thee."
Also that of her husband, J. C. Mullens, Esq., who died 30th
September, 1855.
On the west-side of the gravel walk leading to the entrance of
the church a stone slab covers the grave of all that was of Louisa,
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wife of Mr. 7. A. MicheH of this parish, who. died In child-bed on the
24th November, 1834 ; aged 23 years.
Far, far remote from objects dear,
A virtuous -wife here rests ;
Who ever studied while on earth,
To comfort and caress.
Her husband, and her parents dear,
Now mourn departed worth,
Affections was her constant theme,
While she had breath on earth.
In child-birth first her troubles rose,
Her babe on earth abides ;
Extreme her grief, extreme her pain,
Delivered, and she died.
Her husband now consoles himself
With hopes not found in vain,
That as her happy soul's at rest,
His loss will be her gain.
Also of Sarah Gywnn, wife of James Gywnn, who died May 28,
1850, aged 67. And also of James Gywnn, who died January 28,
1851, aged 77.
Hard by is another grave-stone sacred to the memory of Mrs.
Elizabeth Stewart, widow of the late Lieut. James Stewart, B.N.,
who departed this life on the 10th of aged 60 years. The
letters on this slab are so eaten away by the tooth of time that we
could not decipher the date.
A head-stone marks the grave of Margaret Young, who died
August 13th, 1855, aged 58 years. Added to this inscription are
the words :
" For now shall I sleep in the dust ;
And thou shalt seek me in the morning,
But I shall not be."— The book of Job vii. 21.
The epitaph on another slab is as follows : " Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord" — so died on the 24th of May, 1829, aged 56
years — Mary, the beloved wife of B. Jonathan Broad, late Chief
Secretary at the Bolls. Also beneath this stone are deposited
Barber Jonathan Broad, Esq., many years an inhabitant of thifi
parish, who died the 10th of July, 18 31, aged 61 years.
On another grave-stone is an inscription sacred to the memory of
Alice Buckney, daughter of Thomas and Charlotte Buckney, of this
parish, who died 9th August, 1830, aged 16 days.
Against the west wall in the rear of the houses in Ceylon Street
is a head-stone erected sacred to the memory of Elizabeth Dicker,
the beloved wife of Job Dicker, who departed this life may 6th,
1858, in the 55th year of her age. At the bottom of this epitaph
are inscribed the lines so familiar to us and which all have seen in
many a churchyard :
Afflictions sore long time I bore ;
Doctors were in vain !
Death and disease— and God did please
To ease me of my pain.
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Weep not for me, my children dear,
Nor shed for me a single tear :
In heaven I hope we all shall meet,
Then all our joys will be complete.
Here is a stone in memory of Richard, third son of Henry Boston
and Amelia Bowker, who died Sept. 18th, 1849, aged 6 years. His
dying words were: " Suffer little children to come unto me, and
forbid them not." Also Elizabeth, who died Sept. 23rd, 1849,
aged 1 year 3 months. Also Alfred, who died Oct. 18, 1849, aged
4 years. Also Mr. Henry Boston Bowker, father of the above
children, who died July 23rd, 1852, aged 40 years. Also at the
foot of this grave lie the remains of Mr. William Bobbins, grand-
father to the above children, who departed this life July 1st, 1858,
aged 71 years. " Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest
not what a day may bring forth."
Near the wall at the south-side of the burial ground stands a
solitary head-stone sacred to the memory of Sarah Fisher, relict of
Jonathan Boundell Fisher, late of Cumberland and Otley, Yorkshire,
who departed this life 17th September, 1854, aged 67. The memory
of the just is blessed.
Near the entrance to the church at the south- side stands a plain
head-stone with no adornment, sacred to the memory of Elizabeth
Clunie, during 40 years the beloved friend of Mrs. Graham's family,
of Clapham Common. Born at Hull, August 29th, 1793. Died at
Clapham Common June 22nd, 1853. Carefully trained by pious
pare.jts and by faith engrafted in youth into Christ the living vine.
She brought forth throughout her whole life the precious fruits
which spring from that all important union, and abiding in Him
her end was peace.
Scriptuie Headers, Mr. F. Vellenoweth, 62, St. George's Boad ;
Mr. 0. Brooks, 9, St. George's Boad ; City Missionary, Mr. H.
Langston; London Mission Bible Woman, Miss Hulbert, 1, Qeylon
Street.
CHBIST CHUBCH is a composition of the early Lancet style,
consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and north and south trancepts,
with tower and spire built of Kentish rag and Bath stone, raised
by subscriptions at a cost of £5,556, with sittings for 900. Interiorly
it has two small galleries. It was designed by Mr. Charles Lee,
and repaired, decorated and re-heated under the superintendence of
Mr. E. C. Bobins. The first stone of this elegant church vas
laid by the Bishop of Sodor and Man, on May the 27th, 1847.
The living is a vicarage in the gift of the Vicar of St. Mary's.
The income is derived from the pew rents. The area is 408
acres and the population of the Ecclesiastical parish in 1871 was
18,720. The Bev. Samuel Bardsley was the first Vicar of Christ
Church but not the first minister. For some years it was a
Chapel-of-Ease and was supplied by the Vicar of the Mother
Church. The Bev. Samuel Bardsley was there from 1861 to 1867,
The schools, the Vicarage, and the school in Orkney Street were
built during his time. He resigned the living to become Bector of
Spitalfields, and was succeeded by the Bev. Edward Cumming Ince,
M.A., of Jesus College, Cambridge. In May^ 1877, Mr. Ince
resigned having suffered from enfeebled health, amid the painful
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Tegrets of Ms beloved flock, who for ten years had listened to "his
thorough evangelical discourses and had profited so much under his
faithful ministry.
The Rev. Stopford Bam, M.A., Secretary of the Church of England
Temperance Society, Instituted (Hospital Sunday) June 17th, 1877,
left on account of ill health, July, 1880, and died at Bournemouth,
May 22nd, 1881, and buried on Ascension day.
" There remaineth, therefore, a rest for the people of God."
He has gone to his rest, like the bright summer sun
As it sinks in the west when its day's work is done,
But only to leave us a little while here,
To shine in another and far distant sphere.
He has gone to his rest— the journey is o'er,
And safely he lands on that bright, blissful shore,
Where banished for ever is sorrow and pain,
'Mid the harps that are tuned to a holier strain.
He has gone to his rest — no longer to roam,
The Master has called His dear labourer home ;
Triumphant he enters the mansions of bliss,
And welcomes the change from a world such as this.
He has gone to his rest — the race has been run,
And vict'ry accomplished through Jesus the Son.
Unwearied by conflict, he knew no defeat ;
His trophies are laid at our Great Captain's feet.
He has gone to his rest — we shall miss the dear voice
Which so often on earth made our spirits rejoice.
Yet mourn we ? Ah, no ! If in Jesus we reign
To-morrow we all shall be meeting again.
He has gone to his rest — that sweet Zion to share
With some of his flock awaiting him there ;
Like him let us labour, the right to uphold ;
Brave, patient, enduring, true-hearted, and bold.
Alfred Sargant.
The Eev. H. Guildford Sprigg, M.A., the present Vicar, com-
menced his duties, September, 1880.
"Holy, holy, holy : Lord God of Sabaoth.
Heaven and earth are full : Of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the apostles : Praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets : Praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs : Praise thee.
The holy church throughout all the world : Doth acknowledge
thee." — Te Deum laudamu*.
" Serve the Lord with gladness : Come before his presence with
singing." — Psalm c. 2.
Mr. Lowres, of Plough Lane, an energetic City Missionary, has
laboured in Christ Church district for nearly twelve years, and his
local Superintendents were the Rev. S. Bardsley and the Eev. B.
0. Ince.
Mr. Warren, in an adjoining district, is another devoted
Missionary.
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Br* Jobb'b Qkqbwu
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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, Usk Koad, was completed from tlie
designs of Mr. E. 0. Robins, selected in competition. It is a re-
markably inexpensive church. It provides accommodation for
about 750 persons at a cost of £4 10s. per head. The church
received a grant from the Incorporative Society for Building Churches
upon one-third of the sittings being made free. It is designed in
the early English style, with nave, north and south aisles and
apsidal chancel, a small western gallery and two bell turrets.
Messrs. Sharpington and Cole were the builders, Who executed the
work for the sum of £3,300. (St. John's Parsonage was built by
the same architect). The foundation stone of St. John's was laid
August 6, 1862. The consecration and opening took place May
5th, 1863. The living is a Vicarage in the gift of the Vicar of St.
Mary's. The area is 157 acres, and the population of the Ecclesias-
tical parish in 1871 was 7,839. The district assigned to the church
was formed out of the parishes of St. Mary's Battersea, and St.
Anne, Wandsworth, by an Order of Council bearing date July 27,
1863 — (the register dates from this period). The new parish was
legally constituted and named the Consolidated Chapelry of St. John,
Battersea. The first Vicar of the new parish was the Rev. Edwin
Thompson, D.D., who from beginning his work with services in a
room in Price's Candle Factory, afterwards, lived to be instrumental
in building the two Churches of St. John and St. Paul, together
with the Schools in Usk Eoad, erected 1866, and Parsonage House,
Wandsworth Common ; a noble monument of his untiring energy
and zeal. He died suddenly February 2nd, 1876, aged 51 years.
The present Vicar of St. John's is the Rev. William John Mills
Ellison, M.A., Wadham College, Oxford.
The windows in the chancel representing John the Baptist,
St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. John ; the last supper and the ascension
to the glory of God, and in memory of Daniel Watney, departed
March 16, 1874, aged 74, are erected by his son John Watney.
On the south side of the church the Memorial Windows
representing David and Samuel to the glory of God, and in memory
of W. H. Hatcher, at rest August 2nd, 1879, aged 58. Erected by
Friends and Sunday Scholars. " Their works do follow them." —
Rev. xiv. 13.
On the north side the Memorial Windows representing St. Paul
and St. Barnabas, in loving memory of a dear mother, Martha
Colden, who died August 25, 1880. Erected by her only child
M. A. B. S. Estimated cost of each window £15 15s. Guard and
fixing to each £2 2s.
" fciow ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us,
and not we ourselves ; we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture." — Psalm *, 3.
ST. PAUL'S situated on St. John's Hill, is a Chapel-of-ease to St.
Mary's Battersea, designed by Mr. Coe for the late Rev. Dr.
Thompson. It is a stone structure consisting of chancel, apsidal,
nave, aisles and tower with spire. It was built at a cost of about
£6,300
"Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in
the courts o£ our God."-— Ftalm tciu 13*
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, Queen's Road, is a Gothic stone
building consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and trancept with tower,
built from the designs of Mr. James Knowles, Junr., at a cost of
£13,000. A considerable portion of this sum was given by P. W.
Flower, Esq., the remainder was raised by public subscriptions.
The church will accommodate nearly 1,000 persons. The livin g is
a Vicarage, yearly value £200, in the gift of the Bishop of Win-
chester, and held by the Rev. John Hall.
A Mission in connection with the Bishop of Winchester's Fund
was commenced in the month of June, 1869, in a house lent by the
proprietor for the purpose, in Queen's Road, Battersea Fields.
Services and Parochial Institutions were then established, which
have become the foundation of those now in active operation.
On July 13th. 1870, the New Church of St. Philip was finished,
and consecrated by Dr. Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of the diocese,
and who also held his Trinity Ordination at the Church of St. Philip
the year before he died.* On May 16th, 1871, a District formed
out of the Parishes of St. Mary, St. George, and Christ Church,
Battersea was attached to the Church, and published in the
" London Gazette." On the 6th July, 1871, an Endowment of
£200 per annum, which had been promised by the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, was legally secured to the Cure of St. Philip, and
published in the "London Gazette" on the 26th of the same month.
The payments were to date from the day on which the District was
assigned (viz., May 16th, 1871), and the first payment was to be
made on November 1st, 1871. The seats are free and the expenses
v of the church have to be defrayed by the weekly offertory.
A New Organ has been built by Messrs. Hill and Son and placed
in the north chancel aisle ; the cost with the platform is £5 16 Is. 1 Id.
If, when the Church of St. Philip was erected, the original design
of having a lofty spire with flying buttresses had been carried out,
St. Philip's Church would have been the most magnificent
Ecclesiastical structure in Battersea. — Churchwardens, W. G.
Baker, A. W. Wilkinson.
" They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellow-
ship, and in breaking of bread and in prayer." — Acts tt. 42.
" Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates,
waiting at the posts of my doors."~-2V , oiwfo viii. 84.
We'll crowd Thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise ;
And earth with her ten thousand tongues
Shall fill Thy courts with sounding praise.
Wide as the world is Thy command,
Vast as eternity Thy love ;
Firm as a rock Thy truth must stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move. — Watts.
The construction of Queen's Road, etc., on Park-town, Battersea
Estate, cost Mr. Flower about £3,000.-0. Merrett, Clerk of the
Works for the Estate.
A New Bailway Station has been erected in the Queen's Eoad,
on the South- Western line.
•Bishop S. 'Wilberforce, born September 7th, 1805, died 19th of July, 1873,
through a^fcon* a horse*
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ST. MARK'S, Battersea Else, is a Gothic building, and consists
of chancel, nave, aisles, trancept with porch, and western vestibule
and handsome crypt. The corner-stone was laid by the Bight Rev.
Dr. Harold Browne, Bishop of Winchester, November lltn, 1873,
and it was dedicated by his Lordship September 30th, 1874. The
Architect is Mr. William White, F.S.A., and the total cost has
been £6, 500. It is seated for 600, with backs and kneelers through-
out. Mr. T. Gregory, of Battersea, builder. The living is a
Vicarage, in the gift of the Vicar of St. Mary's.
" The rich and the poor meet togother; the Lord is the Maker
of them all." — Proverbs xxii. 2.
The dedication festival of this church, in which the late Philip
Cazenove took so warm an interest, was agreeably marked by the
placing of a stained window of two lights, representing St. Philip
and St. James, in the north trancept. The name of Mr. Oaxenove
is inscribed on the tablet of a glass mosaic, set in alabaster, and
sunk in the brick-work of the- wall beneath the window* Xha
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tablet is a material much used for church purposes by the executants,
Messrs. Powell, Whitefriars, and called "opus sectile." The
design is simple and chaste, as befitted one whose unostentatiousness
was one of his leading characteristics. The window was placed in
the transept by his two daughters. — South London Frtas, May 15th,
1880a
ST. LUKE'S CHAPEL-OF-EASE, Nightingale Lane, is a pretty
Iron Church, originally erected on Battersea Eise in 1868, was
moved in September, 1873, to the adjacent plot, and used by the
congregation while St. Mark's was being built. On November 14,
1874, having been once more removed to its present site it was
dedicated anew in the name of St. Luke by the Bishop of Guildford.
" oome let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the
Lord our Maker." — Psalm xcv. 6.
ST. MATTHEW'S, Eush-hill Eoad, Lavender Hill, is a Chapel
of Ease to St. Mary's, it is built in the Early English Style of
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Architecture, has vaulted noof and sacristy, seats 550, and cost
about £3,000. Mr. W. White, F.S.A., Architect ; Mr. W. H.
Williams, Builder. The Dedication Service was conducted by the
Eight Beverend J. S.Utterton, D.D., Bishop Suffragan of Guildford,
on Saturday, 28th of April, 1877, at 3 p.m. The Eev. W. B.
Buckwell is the Officiating Minister.
" Blessed are they that dwell in thy house ; they shall be still
praising thee." — Psalm lxxxiv. 4.
ST. SAVIOUE'S CHUECH, Lower Wandsworth Eoad, now
called Battersea Park road, erected by Messrs. Lathey Brothers at
a cost of £4,000 from the designs of Mr. E. O. Eobins. It ac-
commodates 700 persons and is designed in the early French Gothic
style faced with Kentish rag and Bath stone dressings. It consists
of a nave with clerestory, north and south aisles and rectangular
chancel with small western gallery over the entrance lobby. There
is a bell turret at the east end. The chancel has been decorated in
color by Messrs. Heaton and Butler. The glazing is of cathedral
glass. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the trustees. The popula-
tion of the district is about 1 1,500. The foundation stone was laid
byH. S. Thornton, Esq., January 4th, 1870. The consecration of the
church on the 19th October, 1871, by the late Samuel Wilberforce,
D.D., Lord Bishop of Winchester. The offertory amounted to the
sum of £40, which was added to the Church Building Fund. The
Petition to consecrate was read by the Eev. C. E. Ince, Vicar of
Christ Church, Battersea, and the deed of conveyance was presented
to the Bishop by W. Evill, Esq., one of the most generous and
zealous friends of the undertaking. The litany was read by the
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Kev. J. MacCarthy. At the evening service an appropriate sermon
was preached by the Rev. E. C. Ince, and at the opening services
on Sunday, the 22nd, tho morning sermon was preached by the Rev.
J. MacCarthy, and that in the evening by the Rev. E. Daniel. The
Rev. J. MacCarthy was the first Vicar.
The institution of the present Vicar, the Rev Samuel Gilbert
Scott, M.A., Magdalen College, Oxford, took place on Sunday,
April the 29th, 1877. The Bishop of Guildford instituted the Vicar
after the Nicene Creed. At the close of the sermon the Bishop
celebrated Holy Communion ; there were 55 communicants. The
offertory on the day amounted to nearly eight pounds. Curate,
the Rev. W. J. Harkness, B.A., Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Churchwardens, John Elmslie, John Merry. Lay Readers,
with Episcopal sanction, Mr. Hussey, 32, Chatham Street ; Mr.
Hann, 2, Millgrove Street. Mission Women, Mrs. Wootton, 23,
Warwll Street; Mrs. Collins, 5, Chatham Street.
"E iter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with
praise : be thankful unto him, and bless his name for the Lord is
good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all
generations." — Psalms e. 4-5.
Mr. Crosby, a Missionary in this district, held Evangelistic
Services at a Mission Hall in Arthur Street, Battersea Park Road.
ST. PETER'S CHURCH, Plough Lane, is a beautiful Gothic
structure built of red brick, with chancel, nave, aisles, and lofty tower
with spire pointing like a finger to the sky as if to remind man that
when the Saturday night of this world shall arrive and earth's trials
are o'er " there remaineth a rest for the people of God." — Hebrews
iv. 9.
In the tower are four illuminated dials, by Messrs. Gillett & Bland
of Croydon. The Church has sittings for about 820. The top-stone
of the spire of St. Peter's Church was laid about 5 p.m., on the 24th
of April, 1 876, by Mr. Toone, in the presence of Mr. White the
Architect, Mr. Carter the Builder, Mr. Williams the Clerk of the
Works, and a few others, with the formula " In the faith of Jesus
Christ and to tho glory of His Holy Name we lay the top-stone of
this spire of St. Peter's Church, in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen." A crowd of well-wishers
below watched the ceremony with interest. The corner-stone of
this church was laid by the Bishop of Winchester, on St. Peter's
Day, of 1875, and on the same festival, June 29th, 1876, it was
Consecrated by the same prelate. At the Consecration Service the
Bishop of Guildford read the Gospel, the Rev. S. Cooper Scott the
Epistle, and the Bishop of the Diocese preached the Sermon from
the words of the Gospel " Thou art Peter and on this rock I will
build my Church." There were 120 communicants. The Bishop
of Guildford preached in the evening to an overflowing congrega-
tion.
The interior of St. Peter's Church is spacious. The rich carving
of the capitals has been executed by Mr. Harry Hems, of Exeter,
as also the pulpit and font. The pulpit is of stone with alabaster
figures introduced in the panels representing St. Peter, St. Paul,
St. John, Isaiah, King Solomon, Moses and Noah. The bowl of
the font is also of alabaster supported by angels carved in the same
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material. The pavement is beautifully tesselated and has several
scriptural illustrations. The seats are fixed — these and all the
internal wood-work are varnished. The cost of erection was about
£10,500. The belfry at present contains one bell only, a tenor of
six, it cost £120, and cast with the words on it, " When I do call,
come serve God all/" It was rung on St. Peter's day, 1876. The
Register dates from 1876. The living is a Vicarage, in the gift of
the Vicar of St. Mary, and held by the Rev. John Toone, B.A., of
St. John's College, Cambridge.
"I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of
the Lord. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within
thy palaces." — Psalm cxxii. 1-7.
St. Peter's Temporary Church and School-room was completed in
1874, at a cost of £1,200. St. Peter's Vicarage was formerly the
residence of Mr. Burney.
TEMPORARY CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION, Lavender
Hill. — A permanent church adjacent is now in course of erection,
and being raised by voluntary contributions. The Rev. J. B.
Wilkinson is the Officiating Minister. The foundation stone of this
church was laid by the Earl of Glasgow, 1st of June, 1876. This
structure is being built of Bath stone and red bricks, and is groined
throughout with stone ribs and brick panels. The foundation
stone is situated under the " altar." James Brooks, Architect, 35,
Wellington Street, Strand ; Mr. Chessam, Builder, Shoreditch.
" A day in thy courts is better than a thousand ; I had rather be
a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents
of wickedness." — Psalm lxxxiv. 10.
ST, MICHAEL'S CHURCH, Chatham Road, Bolingbroke
Grove, Wandsworth Common — the Memorial to the Rev. H. B.
Verdon and Mr. Philip Cazenove, the eminent and successful
merchant. The Temporary Iron Mission Church which for the
last nine years had been used as a Chapel-of-Ease to the Mother
Church of St. Mary, Battersea, and the site on which the present
edifice is erected were the gifts of the latter gentleman. Henry
Boutflower Verdon was born December 8, 1846. Himself the son
of an excellent clergyman was educated at the Clergy Orphan
School, Canterbury, from which he went to Jesus College, Cam-
bridge, as Rustat Scholar and took his degree in 1868. After a
period of study at Cuddensdon Theological College he began
clerical work as a curate under the Rev. Aubrey Price, M.A., Vicar
of St. James', Clapham, where the poor speak in affectionate terms
of his memory. In the Spring of 1872 he became curate of Bat-
tersea, a few weeks after the appointment of the present Vicar.
From the first Mr. Verdon took special interest in the district known
as Chatham Road, Bolingbroke Grove, and the residents there were
very much attached to him. The Sunday evening services and
Sunday Schools held in St. Michael's Chapel were objects of his
unremitting care. He acted as the Secretary of the Committee
during the time St. Mark's Church was being built. He was an
active member of the Charitable Organization Committee — he pro-
moted the work of the Royal Society for the Prevention of
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Cruelty to Animals and established a mission Branch in Batterseb.
Jfc His marriage in January, 1879, to Miss Wheeler, was the cause
of much congratulation ; but before the expiration of many months
this conjugal relationship was to be severed. Had he lived the
Incumbency of St. Marias Church would have been transferred to
him. He aied of a rapid consumption October 10, 1879.
The two Memorial Stones were laid in the Chancel of the Church
(which is now completed) by the Archbishop of Canterbury. "The
Archbishop after tapping them with the mallet saying at each " In
the faith of Jesus Christ we place this stone for a memorial of thy
faithful servant whose name is written thereon and in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost," and the choir
chanting Amen. The stone on the south side of the chancel bore
the inscription carved in antique on a gilt ground, " Henry
Boutflower Verdon, M.A., iEt., 33 obt. X. Oct. A.D. 1879," and
that on the north side, the words, "Inmema. grata Philip Cazenove,
JEt. 81 obt. XX. Jan. A.D. 1880." After laying the stones the
Archbishop delivered a short address in the course of which he
said that the two servants of God whose names were on the memorial
stones worked hand in hand together for good though separated
from each other by fifty years of life ; one dying almost in his
prime and the other living on to a long old age but each dedicated
to the service of God, one ministering in the sanctuary and daily
officiating in the house of God, the other taking part during a long
life in the trade and exchange of this great city, busy with the
arrangements by which human industry is promoted. Both different
yet wonderfully alike, and both judicious servants bearing the
stamp of their heavenly Master and serving Him bravely, faithfully
and laboriously. Let them be thankful that this space of fifty made
no difference in the two men. As we got old we began to think
that wisdom and goodness were with the old only, but he thanked
God that in His Church there never had failed and never would
fail a succession of faithful servants century after centnry to carry
on the work which the Lord loves and which will make the world
at last ready for His second coming. The name on the one stone
might be little known beyond his own neighbourhood or the name
of the other beyond the city of London, but they were known to
their heavenly Master whom they served faithfully, and in His book
are the names of both written. The memory of the young man
whose name was on the one stone would linger long among those
whom he loved and the poor and the sick to whom he had endeared
himself and for whom he faithfully laboured, but for the speaker
his thoughts and friendship were with the old man whose name was
on the other stone. Five and twenty years ago when the speaker
entered on the laborious work of the See of London, the first to
welcome and assist him was Mr. Cazenove. He belonged to the
noble band who helped Bishop Bloomfield from the very first.
Those five and twenty years had been as laboriously spent in doing
good as the years that had gone before. When- those men first
entered on the work how different was this suburb of London to
what it is now. Great wars had absorbed the attention of men, and
a large population had grown up before people knew it, and before
men had thought of the duty of meeting the spiritual wants of the
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hew suburbs. If it Lad not been for the noble band who gathered
round Bishop Bloomfield what a different account would have had
to be rendered now. Let us trust and believe that when all of us
have passed away it will be found that God has raised up a suc-
cession of faithful servants ; men of every business and profession
who will still regard the profession of Jesus Christ as the most
noble of all, for no profession was more noble than the service of
the Heavenly King. Let us trust that with dangers around us the
spirit of vigorous Christianity may continue to be triumphant as it
had been in so many instances already. Let us trust to the good
work begun and carried forward during the last fifty years will
florish with God's blessing for many years to come."
"The new church is a plain Gothic structure built of red and
stock bricks, and is 90 feet long by 70 feet wide. It consists of a
nave, chancel, and two aisles, surmounted with a timber roof of
three spans covered with red tiles. There are two entrances, one
in Chatham Road and the other in Darley Road; the former sur-
mounted by a figure of St. Michael in conflict with the serpent.
There is also a small tower containing a bell weighing 2 cwt. There
is a commodious crypt beneath the chancel. The latter contains
three rows of stalls for the clergy and choir, and is lighted by six
small windows of stained glass, in each of which there is an angel
exquisitely executed from the Studio of Messrs. Lavers, Barraud
and "Westlake. It is also intended to place a reredos of white
marble here. The altar is approached from the nave by nine steps.
The nave communicates with the aisles by large Gothic arches sup-
ported on octagonal pillars of ' granolith 7 — a material composed of
granite chips and Portland cement. The floor is of blocks of wood
and the building is " pewed" with open benches to accommodate
about 750 worshippers. The pulpit (a memorial gift by Mr. Verdon's
widow) is of carved oak with a base of Caen stone, and is reached
by a short flight of stone steps. Behind the pulpit in the south
aisle is the organ, which has been brought from St. Luke's church,
Derby, and was built by Mr. Abbott of Leeds. At the west end of
the church is a font (which is in memory of a loved grandchild of
Mr. Cazenove) of veined marble supported by nine columns of
polished granite and Caen stone. It is surmounted by a polished
oak cover and is a gift "to the glory of God and the memoiy of
Philip Henry Hessey." The church is warmed with hot air. It
has been erected by Mr. J. D. Hobson, from the designs of Mr.
White, F.S.A. The total cost is £4500, which (with the exception
of £800 unpaid at the commencement of the dedication services)
had all been contributed by the relatives and friends of the late
H. B. Verdon and Philip Cazenove. The church is provided with
prayer books, hymn books, and kneelers throughout."
The Dedication of St. Michael's Church was on September, 10,
1881, by the Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Rochester— the
service commenced at 11.30 a.m.
Lord of hosts, to thee we raise
Here a house of prayer and praise !
Thou thy people's hearts prepare
Here to meet for praise and prayer*
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King of glory come,
And with thy favour crown
This temple as thy dome,
This people as thy own !
Beneath this roof, deign to show,
How God can dwell with men below.
Here may thine ears attend
Our interceding cries,
And grateful praise ascend,
All fragrant to the skies !
Here may thy word melodious sound,
And spread celestial joys around !
Here may thy future sons
And daughters sound thy praise,
And shine like polish' d stones,
Through long succeeding days !
Here Lord, display thy sov'reign power,
While temples stand, and men adore !
ALL SAINTS' TEMPOEAEY IEON CHUEOH, is situated in
Victoria Bridge Eoad, near the south-eastern gate of Battersea
Park. It will accommodate 200 persons. All seats free and un-
appropriated. It was opened for Divine Service Saturday, Sept.
6th, 1879, at 3.30 p.m. The Eev. Canon Clarke, Vicar of Battersea,
and Eural Dean, preached the first sermon. His text was: —
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this
seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." — II. Timothy ii. 19.
An income of £200 a year from the Eochester Diocesan Fund has
been granted to the clergyman of the district, tho Eev. A. E. Bourne,
formerly Curate of St. Peter's, Battersea. The new provisional
district of " All Saiuts," Battersea, has been formed out of three
parishes, viz., St. Mary's, St. Saviour's and St. George's, to meet
the requirements of the rapidly increasing population of the
neighbourhood. Eoughly speaking the boundaries of the new
district are the London, Chatham and Dover Eail way from the river
to the London and South Western Eailway, along the London and
South Western Eailway to Park Grove ; down Park Grove, across
the open land to the Park round the north corner. The only ex-
ceptions are the streets between Queen's Eoad and Eussell Street
which remain part of St. Philip's parish.
" God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of His saints and
to be had in reverence by all them that are about Him.
Let us then with gladsome mind
Praise the Lord for He is kind ;
For His mercies shall endure
Ever faithful, ever sure.
EOCHESTEE DIOCESAN MISSION, St. James', Nine Elms.
Clergyman in charge, Eev. William George Trousdale, B.A. — The
Mission Buildings situated in Woodgate Street and Ponton Eoad,
Nine Elms Lane, have lately been enlarged by the Misses Baily of
Esher, at a cost of over £1200. The church contains sittings for
250. There are in connection with the Mission, Sunday Schools,
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two Mothers' Meetings, Girls' Bible Class, Girls 1 * Sewing Class,
Recreation Boom for Girls, Provident Club, Penny Bank. It is
also proposed to establish shortly a Working Man's Club and a
Creche, for which there is ample accommodation in the Mission
Buildings. Services — Sunday at 1 1 and 7, Wednesday Evening at
8, Children's Service the 3rd Sunday in the month at 3.
ST. ALDWIN'S MISSION CHAPEL, (Rochester Diocesan
Society) Poyntz Road, Latchmere Road, was opened on Sunday,
12th September, 1880, at 7 p.m. It will comfortably seat 300
persons. St. Aldwin's district is formed partly out of St. Saviour's
and partly out of Christ Church parish — the latter ceded the
Colestown Estate, the former handed over Latchmere Street and
Road, and the cluster of streets which is surrounded by the triangle
of railways. Mission Curate — Rev. T. B. Brooks, M.A., 2, Nevil
Villas, Albert Road. Mission- woman — Mrs. Monk, Mission House,
25, Poyntz Road.
" Both young men and maidens, old men and children ; let them
praise the name of the Lord," — Psalm cxlviii. 12-13.
" Blessed is the people who know the joyful sound : they shall
walk Lord, in the light of thy countenance." — Psalm lxxxix. 15.
" Thy power to save ! " thrice happy they
Who taught of Thee delight to pray,
Rejoicing in Thy love :
Now clothed in righteousness divine,
The heirs of glory, — soon to shine
In realms of joy above.
A pastor's warning voice ! — " Take heed,
Whilst by the sunny banks you feed
Of England's good old Church !
Live close to Jesus ; — not on forms,
Lest, unprepared for coming storms,
You founder in the lurch !
Heed well the Word — the joyful sound,
The Gospel of our God — still found
To point straight up to heaven :
Beware of sounds of " yea and nay,"
Por God's own "yea" is man's sure stay,
Not Pharisaic leaven."
The presence of the Lord is found
Where love, and joy, and peace abound,
Fruits of the Spirit's Word;
Where christian hearts unite in prayer
In Jesus' Name— the Lord is there,
Jehovah, Jesus, God.
There are two Roman Catholic places of worship in Battersea,
viz : —
THE CHURCH OP OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL AND
ST. JOSEPH, situated in Battersea Park Road, was built by a lady
of the name of Mrs. Boschetta Shea (of Spanish extraction, and
whose husband was an Irish Protestant) in 1868, and put under
the management of the late Very Rev. Canon Drinkwater, who
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retained the control of the church and adjacent buildings, including
the Convent of Notre Dame and Girls' School, the St. Joseph's
Boys' School, and the New Church lately erected. The Duke of
Norfolk gave £500 towards the building fund for the new church.
Within the grounds adjoining the Convent are kitchen and
flower gardens with a gravel walk and a very compact grotto.
In the month of May, the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, there are processions in the grounds every Sunday afternoon
in which boys and girls take part, singing hymns in honour of
"our Lady." The Boys' School is of an oblong shape, and is
governed by the Xaverian Brothers, including several pupil teachers.
Subjects taught : reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, English,
Roman and Grecian history, geography, mathematics and the
Roman Catholic religion.
CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART, Trott Street, is an Iron
building with turret and cross, opened 10th of October, 1875. It
was bunt by the Countess of Stockpool at a cost of £700. The
freehold site of land including one acre cost £1,000. Priest, Rev.
McKenna. New Schools have lately been erected.
THE OLD BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE, York Road, Batter-
sea, was erected in 1736, but a church was not formed for sixty-one
years afterwards. About the year 1755 the Rev. Mr. Browne
became Officiating Minister, and for forty years preached to a small
congregation, but as his age and infirmities increased the number
of attendants on his ministration diminished till he had not more
than four or five persons to hear him ; enfeebled and disheartened
he resigned, and in 1796 a young man, then a Student at Bristol
Academy, afterwards well known as the Rev. Joseph Hughes, M.A.,
supplied the pulpit with so much acceptance that in 1797 a church
was constituted, and lie, in the 29th year of his age, was eleeted to
be the pastor. The constitution and order of the church thus formed
may not be uninteresting, it reads as follows : —
We, the undersigned, desirous of the privilege connected with
religious fellowship and a stated ministry, having already sought
the Lord, and we trust, chosen Him as our Sovereign and Friend,
do hereby give ourselves afresh to each other, according to the
Divine Will, that being united in a Christian Church, we may
render mutual aid, as fellow-travellers from earth to heaven ; and,
though we firmly embrace the sentiments peculiar to the Baptists,
yet, espousing with equal determination the cause of evangelical
liberty, we welcome to our communion all who give evidence of a
change from sin to holiness ; who appear to love our Lord Jesus
Christ, who are willing to be accounted learners in His school, and
who wish to be enrolled in connection with us. And we hope it
will be our united endeavour, and the endeavour of such as may
hereafter be added to us, by all means to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace; to mingle faithfulness, spirituality
and affection in our intercourse; strictly to regard the Divine
Ordinances — so far as we know them ; and to walk before the
Church, our families, and our God, worthy of our heavenly calling."
Under the Rev. Joseph Hughes's ministry the work of God took
deep root here and greatly flourished. By his energy, learning
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and eloquence, and hie connexion with different local societies for
the promotion of religions worship, he was brought acquainted
with Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Vansittart, and Mr. Perceval, by whose
aid he established the " Surrey Mission Society.' At a meeting of
the Religious Tract Society he afterwards promulgated the idea of
an institution for supplying not only the inhabitants of the British
Isles, but the whole world, with copies of the Holy Scriptures ; and
hence arose the Bible Society, of which Mr. Hughes was joint
Secretary until his death. Mr. Hughes expired on Thursday
evening, October 3, 1833, in the 65th year of his age. His mortal
remains were interred in Bunhill Fields.
" John Foster derived much spiritual benefit from his friendship
with Mr. Hughes of Battersea Chapel with whom after he left
Chichester he resided for a time, and it increases not a little the
debt of gratitude due from the christian community to that ex-
cellent man, that though his own authorship was limited to a few
pulpit productions, and his sphere of duty was one of action rather
than of meditation, he performed the noble office of stimulating the
exertions and cherishing the piety of one of the most original and
influential religious writers of his age."
Mr. Foster says " the company who made sometime since an
establishment at Sierra Leone in Africa, have brought to England
twenty black boys to receive European improvements, in order to
be sent when they are come to be men to attempt enlightening the
heathen nations of Africa. They have been placed in a house at
Battersea for the present till some kind of regular and permanent
establishment shall be formed, and I have been requestor, and have
agreed to take the care of them for the present.' ' — Foster's Life and
Correspondence, Vol. I. p. 58-60, edited by J. C. Eyland, A.M.
The Eev. Edmund Clark held the Pastorate from Spring of 1834
to Mid-Summer, 1834 — three months. Ho was succeeded by the
Eev. Enoch Crook, who was two years and a half Pastor of the
Church, viz. , from Mid-summer, 1834, to 1837. A tablet to his memory
is placed on the wall in the vestry of the chapel. Subsequently from
January, 1838, it was the scene of the labours of the Sainted
Israel May Soule, who for thirty-six years was Pastor of the Church
of Christ assembling here ; he faithfully discharged his ministerial
duties ; his doctrine was truly evangelical ; his services unremitting
and his deportment exemplary — beloved by his flock and highly
esteemed by christians of other denominations for his large liberal
heartedness, sound judgment and unsectrian spirit. It was he
who first conceived the idea of enlarging the Old Chapel and had
a model in his study to represent the style of alteration which his
own mind suggested with a view to meet in some humble measure
the growing and increased spiritual wants of the neighbourhood.
However, instead of enlarging the Old Chapel a second time, he
used strenuous efforts and succeeded in having the Old Chapel de-
molished and a commodious place of worship erected on its site.
The Chapel was enlarged and repaired in 1842 and the freehold
purchased and put in trust at a total cost of £1,000. In 1868 the
requisite land for further enlargement of the Chapel was purchased.
The present handsome Chapel involved an outlay of £5,000, erected
in the Eomanesque style c from the designs of Mr. E. C. Eobins.
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The accommodation on ground-floor and galleries is for 900
worshippers. The open timbered roof is one span, and the building
is faced with white bricks with Bath stone dressings. It was con-
structed by the late Mr. John Kirk. The same architect has
recently enlarged East Hill Chapel, Wandsworth, The memorial
stone of the New Chapel was laid by Field Marshal Sir Gk Pollock,
G.C.B., G,C.S.L, on the 8th of June, 1870, being the 33rd year of
the Rev. I. M, Soule's ministry ; the building was completed by the
end of the year, so that Mr. Soule had the pleasure of conducting
the opening services January 1st, 1871. Previously to his coming
to Battersea Mr. Soule for seven years had been Pastor of the
Baptist Church, Lewes, Sussex. He was born Dec. 25, 1806, died
unexpectedly Nov. 8, 1873, having preached with his usual energy
on the previous Sunday, when in the morning he took for his text
Rev. xxii. 14, and afterwards administered the Lord's Supper. The
funeral service was conducted Nov. 15th, by the Rev. I). Jones,
B.A., of Brixton, assisted by the Rev. Edward Steane, D.D., the Rev.
Robert Ashton and other ministers. At the grave, in the presence
of about 7,000 persons, the Rev. Samuel Green delivered an address.
On the following day, Sunday, November 16, Funeral Sermons
were preached in Battersea Chapel to overflowing congregations, in
the morning by the Rev. D. Jones, in the evening by the Rev. Dr.
Angus.
His mortal remains lie interred at St. Mary's Cemetery with those
of Amelia his wife, where in token of fond affection to his memory
a beautiful obelisk of grey polished granite has been erected. The
epitaph states "that he consecrated himself in early life to the
service of God; that he received during a long and faithful
ministry signal tokens of Divine favour in the number who through
his instrumentality were brought to a knowledge of the Saviour:
His earnest constant labours to the last for the education and
welfare of the young are of untold benefit, while rich and poor
alike have lost in him a kind and sympathizing friend, whose loving
and christian spirit will long be remembered in Battersea." A
monumental tablet to his memory is about to be erected in the Chapel.
" Servant of Christ well done,
Rest from thy loved employ,
The battle fought, the victory won,
Enter thy Master's joy."
In a small room under the south gallery is erected a beautiful
marble tablet in memoriam of the Rev. Joseph Hughes, M. A. Also
under the north gallery are erected tablets in affectionate remem-
brance of Henry Tritton, Esq., for many years a resident in the
Parish of Battersea, and whose mortal remains lie buried under the
Chapel. He died 20th of April, 1836, aged 48 years. Also Amelia,
his wife, third daughter of Joseph Benwell, Esq., died March 28,
1855, aged 64 years.
April, 1874, Mr. Soule was succeeded by the Rev. Charles
Kirtland, who still continues to fill the pastoral office.
Let strangers walk around
The city where we dwell ;
Compass and view the holy ground,
And mark the building well*
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The orders of Thy house,
The worship of Thy court,
1 The cheerful songs, the solemn vows,"J^ |
And make a fair report. f
" God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth." — John iv. 24.
Deacons — G. Lawrence, Cubbington Cottage, Battersea Rise;
H. M. Soule, St. John's Hill, Battersea Rise ; W. H. Coe, York
Boad, Battersea ; G. Mansell, 1, Cologne Boad, St. John's Hill;
Philip Cadby, 24, St. Peter's Square, Hammersmith; Thomas
Sadler, 88 Spencer Boad. Chapel-keeper — D. Bayner, 31, Verona
Street, York Boad.
BAPTIST TEMPORARY CHAPEL, Surrey Lane. This build-
ing having stood beyond the time allowed by Government was
condemned by the Board of Works. The Church which formerly
worshipped there have removed to the Lammas Hall until a
permanent building can be raised. A fund is established which
progresses slowly. A. Peto, Esq., The Boltons, South Kensington,
is the Treasurer to the Building Fund. Rev. C. E. Stone is the
Pastor. Deacons, J. Weller and F. T. Ashfield. It is worthy of
note that this was the second Baptist Church formed in Battersea.
" I have set my affectionsto the houseof my God." — I. Chron.xxix 3.
" Christ is the Foundation of the house we raise ;
Be its walls salvation, and its gateways praise !
May its threshold lowly to the Lord be dear ;
May the hearta be holy that worship here ! "
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BATTERSEA PARK TEMPORARY BAPTIST CHAPEL
was erected in 1869, at a cost, including the purchase of freehold
land, of £2,000. In 1872 a front gallery was added which cost
£175, In 1876 a piece of ground was bought at the back of the
Chapel for £105, and new class-rooms and vestries erected at an
additional cost of £420. The grand object of the London Baptist
Association next to the promotion of spiritual work, is the extension
of their bounds by the erection of at least one new Chapel in each
year. The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, the third President (1869), had
the pleasure of seeing a chapel erected in this region where the
poor would be gathered. He was able to purchase and give to the
enterprise this fine freehold site in Battersea, and leaving the front
portion thereof for a future chapel, he expended the grant of the
Association in erecting a school-chapel, seating 630 persons, which
was put in trust without incumbrance. The neighbourhood being
too poor to bear the burden of debt, and no wealthy friends being
forthcoming this was thought to be the wiser course. The Rev.
W. J. Mayers commenced his pastorate in the beginning of the
year 1870. Upon his resignation he was succeeded by the Rev,
Alfred Bax, who for two years or more preached with much
acceptance. On the 2nd of April, 1877, the Rev. T. Lardner
became the officiating minister. Deacons of the Church — J. S.
Oldham, William Weller, W. Chaplin.
In 1866, Mr. E. Carter shoemaker by trade, residing at 16,
Henley Street, commenced holding a Sunday School in his own
hired house.
One Sunday Afternoon, two young students from the Metropolitan
Tabernacle, called at his residence to see if they oould hold re*
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ligious services there, but it does not appear that they at that time
succeeded. Afterwards the School was removed to 32, Russell Street,
then to 53, Arthur Street, where Mr. Bees, a young man from the
Metropolitan Tabernacle conducted Morning and Evening Services
regularly every Lord's day. Subsequently he was succeeded by Mr.
William Wiggins of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon's College who on ac-
count of the place " being too strait' 1 made arrangements to open
Norton Villas, Battersea Park Road, for Sunday School and regular
Sunday Religious Services, and at stated times on Week Evenings.
Norton Villa, was opened as a place of Worship, October 20th, 1867.
In 1868, a Baptist Church was formed by the late Rev. I. M. Soule
of Battersea Chapel and Mr. Wiggins v. as recognised as the Pastor,
the Church consisted of forty members and a Congregation of about
a hundred persons besides a Sunday School of one hundred and
twenty Children; this place however, became too small to ac-
commodate the persons desirous of attending. It was proposed
therefore, to erect an Iron Chapel on a site near York Road Station.
But those friends who made the proposition, on hearing that the
Baptist Association had an intention to build a permament Chapel
in Battersea Park Road, abandoned the idea of purchasing and
erecting an Iron Chapel so in 1870, when the present Chapel was
completed, the Baptists who had met at Norton Villa for worship,
(Mr. Wiggins, having resigned his pastorate there) united with the
Church at Battersea Park Chapel, under the Pastoral care of the
Rev. Walter J. Mayers.
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the
manner of some is; but so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching' — Hebrews x. 25.
" Great the joy when christians meet,
Christian fellowship, how sweet !
When, their theme of praise the same
They exalt Jehovah's name. " — Burder.
" Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ. " — L John «. 3.
BAPTIST (PROVIDENCE) CHAPEL, Meyrick Road, is a
brick building — seats 350. It is intended to have galleries when it
will then accommodate 500. The memorial stone was laid by Mr.
H. Clark, October 5th, 1875, on which are engraved the words
" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. " — Psalm cxi. 10.
Cost of Chapel including the purchase of freehold land on which
the Chapel is erected £2,400. G. G. Stanham, Esq., Architect;
Messrs. Turtle and Appleton, Builders, Battersea. Officiating
Minister, Mr. Philips. Deacons, H. dark, S. Stiles, Joseph
Palmer.
" Philip said (to the Eunuch), If thou believest with all thine
heart thou xnayest (be baptised); and he answered and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. "—Acts viii. 37.
" For we are all partakers of that one bread. " — L Cor. #. 17.
• " Come in, ye chosen of the Lord,
And share the bounties of His house ;
His dying feast, His Sacred word,
Our joys our hopes, and solemn rows .
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Come share the blessings of that board,
Which Jesus for His Saints has spread ;
Receive the grace His ways afford,
Commune with us and Christ our Head. "— O. Smith.
THE NEW BAPTIST CHAPEL, Chatham Road Bolingbroke
Grove. — A suitable plot of ground was obtained at a cost of £150 ;
cost of Chapel, about £850. Services were conducted by Charles and
Thomas Spurgeon. The building will seat 258 persons.
The cause was commenced about fourteen years ago in a very
humble way by Mr. Or. Rides, a working man, who, previously to
the erection of the above place of worship, held meetings in his
own hired house, Swaby Street. William Higgs, Jun., Architect ;
Higgs and Hill, Builders.
WESLEYAN METHODIST MISSION ROOM AND SUNDAY
SCHOOLS, Everett Street, Nine Elms, opened 1871. Mr. John
Parmer, Steward and Superintendent. Now closed.
UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCH, Church Road,
Battersea. — The Memorial Stone was laid by James Wild, Esq.,
May 25th, 1858. Another stone was laid by Mrs. Bowron, Sept.,
22, 1864, when the Chapel was enlarged. S. J. Stedman, Architect.
THE UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCH, Battersea
Park Road.— Tne School-room at the back of the Chapel in Land-
seer Street was built in 1865, at a cost of £500, and it was used as
a preaching Station. In 1871-2 the present Chapel was built, at a
cost of £2,200. Seats about 600. Has a Lecture-room and Schools
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underneath the Ohapel. The freehold was purchased in 1876 and
cost £400. Rev. James Whitton is now Resident Minister in con-
nexion with the 7th, London Circuit.
"The brotherly covenant* " — Amos •'. 9.
" One in heart, and one in hand,
One for all, and all for one ;
Love shines through this Christian band,
Kindled from the heavenly sun. — Edmeston.
In the District known as New Wandsworth, near the Bolingbroke
Grove, Wandsworth Common, is a large and increasing population
Which presents an opening for Christian enterprise.
The Free Methodists of the 7th London Circuit have undertaken
this work. Preaching has been commenoed in a room No. 89,
Bennerly Road, and a society of twelve members have been formed.
A suitable freehold site has been secured in the Mallinson Road
at a cost of £400, and it is proposed to erect a Ohapel and Schools
thereon.
The whole scheme will involve an outlay of £4,000, but at present
it is only intended to build the School, which is estimated will,
with the ground, cost nearly £1,200.
PRIMITIVE METHODIST OHAPEL, New Road, was built in
1874. The Ohapel including the purchase of freehold, cost about
£1,030. Seats 200. Mr. Murphy, Architect; Mr. Stocking,
Builder.
Now a new and much more commodious Ohapel is erected.
Respecting its origin the following account may not be uninteresting.
About twelve years ago the friends of Hammersmith Station
decided to Mission this neighbourhood. First of all they opened
two small parlours at 32, Russell Street, Battersea Park Road, as a
Preaching Station and afterwards secured premises in Stewart's
Lane, which they converted into a small Ohapel, and here, for
several years, were numbers of conversions; but, like all small
and out-of-the-way places, it became a feeder to other churches.
It was at last decided to secure a suitable site and build. First a
lease of a piece of land in the New-Road, and eventually the free-
hold was secured, and a small school-room was erected on part of
the site, which has since been used for school and preaching
services. The building being altogether inconvenient, it was
decided, after prayerful and mature deliberation, to build a Ohapel
which should oe more in harmony with the requirements of the
neighbourhood. Mr. A. J. Rouse, the Architect, was consulted,
plans were prepared, and tenders invited. The contract was let to
Mr. J. Holloway, builder, Wandsworth, for £2000, which, with the
debt of £690 on the school-room and Architect's fees, will bring it
up to £2800. The building is plain, neat, and substantial,
with stone facings. It will accommodate about 600 persons ; there
are two aisles, a gallery on the sides and at one end, with a
back gallery for the organ. Adjoining the chapel is a large class-
room capable of holding sixty children. Externally, the building
is one of the most imposing and attractive in the neighbourhood,
and one of the cheapest in London.
On Whit-Monday, 1878, the memorial-stones were laid. The
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opening address was delivered by Mr. G. Harris. It was practical,
earnest, and eloquent. Stones were laid byE. Burns, B. Adams,
and B. Morton, Esqs., and Messrs. J. J. Muz, W. Bayford, W.
Gibbs, Bev. T. Penrose for G. Palmer, Esq., M. P., Mr. S. Fortune,
Circuit Steward, for the Sunday-schools, Mesdames W. and H.
Baker, and Miss Whiting.
At the end of the Ohapel is a Tablet in memory of Alfred James
Bouse, Architect, who met with his death in the collision between
the Princess Alice and the Bywell Castle on the Thames, September
3rd, 1878. Life is short but Art is long.
" Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not
the Son of Man cometh. Matt. 24. 44. "
The first Primitive Methodist preachers were, William Cowes
and Hugh Borne, in 1807. When the first Primitive Methodist
Church was formed it consisted of ten members ; now it numbers
over 180,000 and employs more than a 1,000 ministers.
"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them." — Matthew xviii. 20.
PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, Grayshott Road, was
erected in 1875. The stone was laid by J. T. Hawkins, Esq., M. A.,
for the Right Hon. Earl Shaftesbury, K. G., November 21, 1874.
Rev. J. Toulson, Superintendent, 7th London Circuit. Another
Stone was laid by a Shareholder of the Artizans, Labourer's and
General Dwelling Company Limited. Rev. W. E. Crombie, Minister.
Mr. A. J. Rouse, Acting Architect ; J. Lose, Builder. The Chapel
seats 400, and cost about £2,600. The entrance to the Chapel is
up a flight of steps ; the Schools are underneath the Chapel.
•' Jehovah, Shammah." JZzek. xlviii. 35. "Allelujah!" Bev. xix. 1.
In the Wandsworth Road, near Grayshott Road, is an old mile-
stone which marks the space between that and the Royal Exchange
five miles, and Whitehall four and a half miles.
PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, Plough Lane,— In the
year 1855, a few Primitive Methodists, residing in the neighbour-
hood of York Road, with the view of having their hearts knitted
more closely together in holy love by Christian fellowship and
frayer, met from house to house for this purpose to worship God —
n this way they continued to meet till the year 1858, when the
linn of Orlando Jones & Co. gave them the use of their Reading
Boom. Here as elsewhere they preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and their numbers steadily increased. In 1870, a piece of land was
secured in Knox Road, and the firm above mentioned, helped them
to erect an Iron Chapel with a School-room underneath. This
building having stood beyond the time allowed by Government was
condemned by the Board of Works. It was opened in June 1871,
and was finally closed in September 1880. About this time the
Estate of the Late Rev. I. M. Soule was sold, and an effort was
made to secure a plot of land thereon, situated in Plough Lane. The
freehold site selected, was purchased, and a substantial brick Chapel
with School-room underneath erected at a cost of £2,300. The
Chapel will accommodate 400 worshippers. It was opened October
24th, 1880, on which occasion Sermons were preached by the Rev.
J. Baxter. I will command My blessing upon you— Ley. 25. 21.
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Command Thy Hearing from above,
God on all assembled here :
Behold us with a Father's love
While we look up with filial fear.
Command thy blessing Jesus, Lord,
May we thy true disciples be ;
Speak to each heart the Mighty Word,
Say to the weakest, follow me.
Command thy blessing in this hour,
Spirit of Truth and fill the place
With wondering and with healing power,
With quickening and confirming grace.
With Thee and these forever found,
May al} the Souls who here unite,
With harps and songs Thy throne surround,
Eest in Thy love, and reign in light.
ST. GEORGE'S MISSION HALL, Stewart's Lane, formerly
belonged to the Primitive Methodists, and was used by them as a
chapel.
"Glory, honour, praise and power
Be unto the Lamb for ever ;
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer,
Hallelujah! Amen.
"Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers
thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ; that
ye may tell it to the generations following. For this God is our
God for ever and ever : he will be our guide even unto death. " —
Psalms xlviii. 12-14.
BATTEESEA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH (Independent),
Junction of Bridge Road and Surrey Lane South, fifteen minutes'
walk from Clapham Junction and York Road Stations, ten minutes'
from Battersea Station ; is an edifice constructed of Kentish rag
with Bath stone dressings, and has a tower with spire at the north
end of the building. The interior is spacious and lofty ; the pews
are made of pitch-pine, varnished, and will accommodate, including
the seats in the south gallery, 600 persons. Cost of erection
£4,500. H. Fuller, Architect; F. W. Sawyer, Builder. With
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respect to its history, this is the first Congregational Church in
Batteraea. It owes its origin to the Surrey Congregational Union,
under whose directions services were held in the Lammas-Hall
previous to the erection of the previous Church building. The
Foundation Stone was laid by the Eev. J. G. Eogers, B. A., of
Clapham, September 17th 1866. It was opened Tuesday, October
12th, 1867, and the Dedication Service was conducted by the Eev.
Samuel Martin, of "Westminster. The present is the third pastoral
settlement, the first minister being the Eev. J. Scott James, of
Cheshunt College, who commenced his ministry in Battersea. In
1 870 the Eev. J. S. James resigned to take the Pastorate of the Church
at Stratford-on-Avon, and was succeeded April, 1871, by the Eev.
Joseph Shaw, of Boston, Lincolnshire. In 1878 the Eev. Joseph
Shaw resigned and was succeeded by the Eev. Thomas Jarratt,
the present Pastor.
The Sunday School and Lecture Hall, with class-room adjoining,
was opened in April, 1874. The entire cost of the building,
furnishing, heating, lighting, and fencing the ground was £510,
the whole of which was discharged July, 1875. Of this amount
a generous friend gave £300 through the Eev. Joseph Shaw ; and
thirty-two pounds were contributed by the Sunday School Children.
The room will seat 300 persons.
The " Church Manual" for 1870 states " This is Congregational,
we regarding the New Testament as the only infallible guide in
matters of Church order, and learning from it that each Church is
authorized to elect its officers, receive and dismiss its members, and
act authoritatively and conclusively upon all questions affecting its
purity and administration. We recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as
our King and Sole Euler in spiritual things, and His Word as our
Statute-Book and only Standard. The membership. We believe
this should be composed only of regenerated persons who are
received into the Church on profession of their faith in Christ, or
by letters from sister Church. Members of other churches, acting
on this principle, are also received on their producing proper
certificates. Candidates for membership should make their appli-
cation direct to the Paster. Deacons, Mr. John Allen, Mr. Thomas
C. Tabor ; Treasurer, Mr. Samuel James Eoberts ; Secretary, Mr.
Edwin John Eason.
The seats are free, not sold or rented, but are allotted for family
convenience and to preserve order. The revenues of the Church
are chiefly derived from the weekly free-will offerings of the church
and congregation.
"How amiable are thy tabernacles, Lord of Hosts." —
Psalm Ixxxiv. 1.
" The Hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets. "
STOEMONT EOAD CONGEEGATIONAL CHUECH Lavender
Hill.
The Schools are in connexion with the above place, where the
woship is at present conducted. They are built from designs by
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J. H. Vernon Esq., and are capable of accommodating 450 scholars.
There are eight class-rooms, and there is every convenience for
carrying on Sunday School work.
The site, which is freehold, as is also the adjoining one for the
future Church was the gift of the London Congregational Union.
The cost of the school buildings was £2820. The foundation stone
was laid on July 27th, 1878, by J. Kemp Welch Esq., and the
buildings were opened on February 18th 1879, when Sermons were
preached by the Kevs. R. W. Dale of Birmingham, and Dr. Ealeigh.
A Church is now being formed under the Pastorate of the Rev. R.
Bulmer, late of Whitby, who commenced his ministry on Sunday
the 2nd of October, last. It is proposed to commence the building
of the Church as soon as possible. The building according to
plans will seat 850. The whole of the Christian work in connection
with the above place is in a very active state, and include Band of
Hope, and Improvement Societies.
WESLEYAN METHODISM IN BATTERSEA.— It is not easy
to determine the time of the first appearance of Methodism in Bat-
tersea. From Mr Wesley's Journal it appears that in his later
years he was accustomed to pay an annual visit to this neighbour-
hood, including Chelsea, Wandsworth and Balham. In the absence
of any definite record of the matter we may assume that some per-
sons in Battersea came under his influence. A half century elapsed
before the Methodist Society found a local habitation in Battersea,
even then, not destined to be a permanent one. A small Chapel,
chiefly at the cost of the late Rev. J. Partes Haswell, was erected
on the site of the present one in the Bridge Road West in 1846 ;
the foundation stone being laid by the late Mr. Scott of Chelsea,
and the works being executed by Mr John Sugden, Builder, of
Bermondsey New Road.
The building was let to the late Mr. J. Boughton and others, for
the use of the Wesleyan Society by Mr. Haswell, and it continued
in their occupation until 1855. The agitations which disturbed the
Wesleyan Connexion in lL 51 and following years were felt with
great severity in Battersea. The congregation and Society were so
weakened by the separation that took place, that the Lessees, after
allowing the Chapel to be occupied for a time by the seceding party,
finally surrendered their lease into Mr. HaswelTs posession again.
In the meantime, however the Wesleyan Society, began to re-
cover from the great depression into which it had fallen ; and in
1858, on their behalf, Messrs. Bell and Molineux, with the late Mr.
Holloway of Battersea, took the former Chapel on a short lease from
the persons into whose hands it had passed ; and ultimately it was
purchased by a duly appointed body of Trustees in 1862.
In 1864, aided by a munificent donation of £425 from Mr. J*
Steadman of South Lambeth, and by other liberal contributions,
the Trustees were enabled greatly to enlarge the building, nearly
doubling its former area; and finally in 1871, it was brought to a
state of completion, by the erection of a Gallery and an Organ,
with other minor improvements. It now furnishes accommodation
for 700 people*
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The usual congregation amounts to about 500, of whom more
than 300 are members of the " Society."
The Eev Gk Bowden, and the Eev. E. Hawken. are the present
circuit ministers, the latter being resident in Battersea, and taking
special charge of the Wesleyan Church there.
The usual times of service on Sundays are, 1 1 o'clock in the
morning, and 6.30 in the evening. There are also Weekly Prayer
Meetings on Sunday mornings at 7 a.m. ; and on Monday evenings
at 7 p.m. ; and a Week-night service on Tuesday evenings at the
same hour.
In 1870, in view of the growing Educational necessities of the
Wesleyan Body, the General Wesleyan Education Committee de-
cided on the establishment of another Training College, in addition
to that which they had in Westminster. Circumstances led to the
placing of this on the Southlands estate, near the Battersea High
Street Railway Station. It furnishes accommodation for 110 female
Students, who are under training for the Office of Teachers ; and
who in due time are employed in all parts of the kingdom in
Schools under Inspection. They constitute, it need hardly be said
a very interesting portion of the congregation. The Rev. G. W.
Olver, B.A., is the Principal, and Mr. James Bailey the Headmaster
of the College.
A Sunday School with 280 Scholars in average attendance meets
twice on each Sunday, and is conducted with more than the usual
efficiency. There are also the customary benevolent and religious
agencies maintained by the Wesleyan Church here ; and Day
Schools for Girls and Infants are connected with Southlands Train-
ing College.* W.S.
happy souls that pray
Where God delights to hear !
happy men that pay
Their constant service there !
They praise thee still ; and happy they
Who love the way to Sion's hill.
They go from strength to strength,
Through this dark vale of tears,
Till each o'ercomes at length,
Till each in heaven appears :
glorious seat ! Thou God, our King,
Shall thither bring our willing feet.
We know for certain Battersea on one occasion was honoured
with the preaching of the Rev. John Wesley as recorded in one of
his Journals, dated November 4, 1766, wherein this indefatigable
servant of Christ states, " I preached at Brentford, Battersea,
Deptford and Welling, and examined the several societies." His
•In olden time this place was called the "Retreat," a spacious mansion, stuccoed,
situated in the midst of an extensive pleasure ground and shrubbery it belonged to
Valentine Morris, Esq. — but when Sir George Pullock became the occupier he
changed the name to that of Southlands, jocosely punninng at the same time upon
its former name by saying that he never made a retreat. Afterwards Sir George
Pollock removed to Clapham Common. Near it stood Manor House the seat of
Richard Morris Esq. Son of Valentine Morris Esq. a large brick edifice in the style
of George the First's reign.
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Journals state that lie preached repeatedly at "Wandsworth, as £he
following extracts will show. Wednesday, November 16, 1748.
u In the afternoon I preached to a little company at Wandsworth
who had just begun to seek God ; but they had a rough setting-
out, the rabble gathering from every side, whenever they met
together throwing dirt and stones, and abusing both men and
women in the grossest manner. They complained of this to a
neighbouring Magistrate, and he promised to do them justice ; but
Mr. C. walked over to his house, and spoke so much in favour of
the rioters, that they were all discharged. It is strange, that a
mild, humane man could be persuaded by speaking quite contrary
to the truth, (means as bad as the end) to encourage a merciless
rabble in outraging the innocent ! A few days after, Mr, C,
walking over the same field, dropped down and spoke no more !
Surely the mercy of God would not suffer a well-meaning man to
be any longer a fool to persecutors."
Tuesday, January 17, 1758, " I preached at Wandsworth, a
gentleman come from America, has again opened a door in this
desolate place. In the morning I preached in Mr Gilberts house
Two Negro servants of his, and a Mulatto, appear to be much
awakened. Shall not his (God's) saving health be made known to
all nations ? "
Thursday, 8th February, 1770, the Eev. John Wesley writes,
"I went to Wandsworth. What a proof we have here that 'God's
thoughts are not our thoughts ! ' Every one thought that no good
could be done here ; we had tried for above twenty years, very
few would even give us the hearing, and the few that did seemed
little the better for it. But all of a sudden crowds flocked to hear ;
many are cut to the heart; many filled with peace and joy in be-
lieving ; many long for the whole image of God. In the evening,
though it was a sharp frost, the room was as hot as a stove, and
they drank in the word with all greediness, and also at five in the
morning, while I applied ' Jesus put forth his hand and touched
him, saying I will : be thou clean ! ' "
Previously to the erection of the present commodious Wesleyan
Chapel in Bridge Eoad West, the friends of the Wesleyan Com-
munion met for worship in a large upper room over a carpenter's
shop in King Street. Subsequently they removed to premises now
belonging to Mr. G. King, Ironmonger, in the vicinity of Surrey
Lane.
John Cullum, an artist by profession, who resided in Battersea,
was connected with the Wesleyan-Methodists. He was a zealous
Open-air Preacher and Temperance Advocate. It is said that he
was the first person who introduced Teetotalism in Battersea and
held meetings for that object. He died in 1852, aged 51 years.
This good man kept a record of important events which had
transpired in Battersea. From a manuscript of his, entitled " The
Antiquities of Battersea," the following extract is taken — it will be
read with interest.
"There is also a Wesleyan Chapel and Society here, which
originated at a small house in Bridge Eoad, near the Bridge, after
which it was removed to Mr Steadman's yard, in which a large
room was fitted up for Divine Worship, and a School formed under
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the fostering care of Mr. Lark and Mr. Bridge, assisted by other
zealous female teachers. In conformity with the principles of Mr.
Wesley the Society has, under God's blessing, increased from one
Class to three Glasses, besides a Sunday School which is in a
flourishing condition. Mr. T. Boughton, the present Superintendent
is assisted by twelve male and female teachers who still persevere
in the good work of instructing the young. The present Chapel
was built in King Street and was considered necessary both from.
the fact that there was not room for the persons who assembled for
worship and other circumstances relative to the Society at that time
The Chapel was opened by three sermons being preached on
Sunday, October 11, 1840, by the Eev. W. Atherton, Eev. J. P.
Haswell, and the Rev. J. Scott. And on Monday evening, October
12, a meeting of the Friends connected with the Chapel was held,
at which the Eev. J. P. Haswell presided, one of the chief friends
to the cause at this place. The object of the meeting was to excite
a spirit of enquiry with respect to the ministry of the Word and
christian instruction of youth in order to benefit the morals of the
neighbourhood and salvation of souls.
There is connected with this Chapel a Stranger's Friend Society,
whose object is to search out the most forlorn and distressing cases
of poverty and sickness. Its plan is carried out by Visitors who
read to the sick a portion of the Holy Scriptures and engage in
prayer with them, and by conversation and tracts endeavour to in-
struct so as to lead the heart to the Saviour, and relieve their
temporal wants by affording them food, &c. rather than money.
Many instances of good have been the result, and the conversion
of some to the truth. Its founders were Messrs. Cooper and
Stanley, Wandsworth; its present officers, Messrs. Stedman and
Evans, Secretary and Treasurer, Oullum, Bridge, Winter, &c,
Battersea. There is a small Branch of the Wesleyan Missionary
Society carried on here — a Tract Society, &c. May the Lord prosper
the work that many may be enlightened by the Q-ospel of Jesus
Christ and made partakers of his great Salvation."
METHODISTIC CHEONOLOGY.
1703, June 17. The Eev. John Wesley born.
1725, Sept. 19. Mr. Wesley ordained by Bishop Potter.
1735, Oct. 14. Mr. Wesley sailed as a Missionary for America.
1739. The Wesleyan-Methodist society established.
1744. June 25. The first Methodist Conference held in London.
1751, April 24. Mr. Wesley preached his first sermon in Scotland,
at Musselburgh.
1769. Messrs. Boardman and Pilmoor sailed for America.
1784. The "Deed of Declaration" enrolled in the Court of Chancery.
1785. Aug. 14. The Eev. John Fletcher died.
1786. The Methodist Missions in the West Indies established.
1788, Mar. 29. The Eev. Charles Wesley died.
1791, Mar. 2. The Eev. John Wesley died.
1814, May 3. Dr. Coke died on his passage to Ceylon.
1821, Feb. 16. The Eev. Joseph Benson died.
1832, Aug. 26. Dr. Adam Clark died.
1833, Jan. 8. The Eev. Eichard Watson died, in the 53rd year
of his age.
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1834. the Wedeyan Theological Institution established.
1838. Members in the Methodist society, 1,062,427,
1839. Centenary of Wesleyn Methodism.
The first (Ecumenecal Methodist Conference held in London
September, 1881.
WESLETAN CHAPEL, Queen's Road.— The following is a brief
account of the rise and progress of Wesleyan Methodism in this
neighbourhood. In the year 1871, in the order of God's providence,
a good man and his wife removed from the Great Queen's Street
Circuit to Frederick Street, now known as Newby Street, Wandsworth
Boad. On October 17, 1871, they very kindly opened their houses
for a class meeting, to be held in connexion with the Society of
which they were members. Here on Sunday, December 3rd of the
the same year, the first preaching Service was conducted. As the
room became inconveniently crowded at the Sunday Services it was
felt that a more suitable place was needed, so after a short time
a Billiard Boom capable of holding 150 persons, situated at No. 588,
Wandsworth Boad, was secured, and on April 21, 1872, was opened
for Public Worship. On June 2nd, about 30 children were garnered
in and a Sunday School commenced. Notwithstanding the unsuita-
bleness of the place and other difficulties which had to be surmounted,
the work of the Lord was carried on in this place until February,
1879 ; in the meanwhile however, strenuous efforts were made in
order to obtain an eligible piece of ground on which to erect a more
commodious building. In 1878, the freehold site situated in Queen's
Boad, was purchased for £1,140, and a temporary Iron Chapel
erected, with seats for 500, at a cost of about £600, this temporary
Sanctuary was opened February 14th, 1879. This Structure while
making ample provision at first was soon found to be inadequate to
meet the requirements of a neighbourhood where the population
was large and rapidly increasing, hence the Trustees and Friends
endeavoured to raise £4,000, by means of grants and loans from the
late Sir Francis Lycett's Fund, the Metropolitan Chapel Fund, etc.,
towards the entire outlay of about £7,000, (the estimated cost of the
permanent building etc,) leaving about £3,000, to be raised by funds
in the Lambeth Circuit. On August 28th, 1881, the New School-
Boom which holds about 320 persons, was opened for Public Worship
and Sunday School purposes. The Iron Chapel having been sold
to make way for the New Chapel now in course of erection which
is expected to be opened for Divine Service about May 1882.
On FridOT July 15th, 1881, the' Memorial Stone was laid at 3
o'clock, by Lady Lycett, when the Bev. GK W. Olver, B. A., gave
an address.
By express desire of the Local Committee the Italian Style has been
adopted, and the building will be erected in Bath Stone and Picked
Stocks — Sitting accommodation for 1,000 will be provided, on the
ground floor 650, and in the galleries 350. Adjoining the Chapel
large School-Booms have been erected with Vestry, Class-Booms,
and the usual offices. The Architect is Mr. James Weir, of the
Strand. James Holloway, Builder, Marmion Boad, Lavender Hill.
" That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night " 2. Chron.
9% % 20.
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Christ is our corner stone.
On him alone we build ;
With his true saints alone
The Courts of heaven are filled ;
On his great Love Our hopes we place
Of present grace and joy above.
! then with hymns of praise
These hallowed courts shall ring ;
Our voices we will raise
The Three in one to sing ;
And thus proclaim in joyful song,
Both Loud and Long, that glorious Name.
Here gracious God do Thou
For evermore draw nigh ;
Accept each faithful vow,
And mark each suppliant sigh,
In copious shower on all who pray
Each holy day Thy blessing pour.
Here may we gain from heaven
Thy grace which we implore :
And may that grace once given,
Be with us evermore :
Until that day, when all the blest
To endless rest are called away.
FREE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Queen's Crescent, Queen's
Road, Some 6 years or more ago, Mr. Crosby began the above
work in Arthur Street Mission Hall, a small Hall situated in the
lowest part of Battersea, and the work under his superintendence
has been so manifestly owned and blessed of God, that it was some
time since deemed imperative on his part as the Lord's steward, to
seek further to extend this effort in His cause. As far as the means
of himself and friends allowed, and in the exercise of much con-
secrated faith and self-denial, a plot of land was secured, and an
iron building erected adjacent to the most needy part of the
neighbourhood, where the extended work is now carried on. The
building, however, is of a temporary character, the Board of Works
granting a license only of two years on iron buildings, and according
to an agreement entered into in faith of the Lord's continued favour,
a brick bidding must be erected in the course of 4 years. The
present building, owing to the speedy growth of the work is even
now too small. An effort is being made to purchase the freehold,
and erect a building capable of holding about 700 persons, at an
estimated cost of £2,750. W. Crosby, Pastor, E. V. Kelly,
Treasurer.
In addition to other lay helpers (including Scripture Readers
and Bible Women) there are six agents at work in Battersea
connected with the London City mission. This is an excellent
Institution, having for its object the Evangelization of the poor of
London. Mr. David Nasmith founded the London City Mission
May 16, 1835. The general business of the London City Mission
is conducted at the Mission House, Bridewell Street, Blackfriars> by
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a Commtitee consisting of an equal number of members of the
Established Church and of Dissenters; and the Examiners of
Missionaries consist of an equal number of Clergymen and Dissent-
ing Ministers, all of whom, with the Treasurers, Secretaries and
Auditors and Members of the Committee, ex-officio. These
gentlemen give practical illustration of the purest ideal of christian
unity by showing, notwithstanding the peculiar church organiza-
tion to which each may be attached, how harmoniously they can
work together on one common platform under the guidance of their
Divine Head for the extension of the Eedeemer's Kingdom by
bringing back wanderers from God to the fold of the one Great
Shepherd, Jesus Christ. The number of City Missionaries engaged
in the Metropolis is about 450.
The Corner Stone of Trinity Mission Hall, Stewart's Lane,
promulgated and subscribed to by the members and adherents of
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Clapham Eoad, was laid Wednesday,
June 20, 1 877, by the Eev. David Macewan, D.D. in the presence of a
very large concourse of people. It is estimated that the Hall will
accommodate about 400 persons ; and in addition to the Hall there is
a School-room which will probably accommodate 150 to 200 scholars
The building cost about £2,500. The land, which is freehold, has
been purchased for £400. The Hall is built of brick with box
stone dressings. W. H. Bobbins, Esq., Architect; B. E. Nightingale,
Builder. Mr. Cameron is the Minister.
The handsome edifice belonging to the Presbyterian Church of
England, Clapham Eoad, cost about £12,000, built through the
nnremitting energy and pious zeal of the late Dr. John MacEarlane
and was for many years the scene of his earnest, faithful and
successful pastoral labours.
PLYMOUTH BEETHEEN.— A body of Christians calling
themselves " The Brethren" came into existence about 1830 — 1835
in Plymouth, Dublin, and other places in the British Islands,
extended throughout the British Dominions, and in some other parts
of the continent of Europe, particularly among the Protestants of
France, Switzerland, and Italy, and also in the United States of
America. Many of the first religious communities found in Plymouth
and elsewhere, were retired Anglo-Indian officers, men of unquestion-
able zeal and piety and those communities began to appear almost
simultaneously in a number of places. Mr. Darby, regarded as
an influential member, afterwards separated from them with many
adherents, Mr. Darby was previously a Barrister, moving in the
highest circles of Society, and under deeply religious impressions
became a Clergyman of the Church of England lived for some time
in a mud-hovel in the County of Wicklow devoting himself to his
work. The Plymouth Brethren object to National Churches as too
Latitudinarian, and to other Dissenters as too Sectarian; their
doctrines however agree with those of most Evangelical Protestant
Churches, but they recognize no ordination of minister; their tenets
may be stated thus : — Original Sin, Predestination, the efficiency of
Christ's Sacrifice, the merits of his obedience, the power of his
intercession, the gracious operations of the Holy Ghost in Eegenera-
tion and Sanctification ; they also generally maintain millenary views,
usually practise the Baptism of believers without regard to previous
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infant baptism, they acknowledge the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper and administer it to one another in their meetings usually
every Sunday, or first day of the week. In 1851, they had 132
places of Worship in England and Wales. This year 1879, the
(exclusive) Brethren hare erected a small place of Worship in High
Street, near Battersea Eailway Station.
A Eailway Arch in Latchmere Road, has been utilized for a
Gospel Hall where the (Open) Brethren meet for worship.
Situated in the rear of Lawn House Laundry, Orkney Street, is
a small place of worship called the " Little Tabernacle" erected at
the sole expense of Mr, John Strutt, where meetings for Bible
Headings, Breaking of Bread, Exhortation, and Prayer are held
every Lord's day.
THOMAS BLOOD, generally known by the appellation of Colonel
Blood, was a discarded officer of Oliver Cromwell's Household ; he
was notorious for his daring crimes and his good fortune. He was
first distinguished by an attempt to surprise the Castle of Dublin,
which was defeated by the vigilance of the Duke of Ormond, and
some of his accomplices were executed. Escaping to England he
with his confederates meditated revenge, and actually seized the
Duke of Ormond one night in his coach in St. James* Street, intending
to hang him, and had got him to Tyburn, where, after struggling
with his would-be assassins in the mire, the Duke was rescued by
his servants, 6 Dec, 1670. Blood afterwards in the disguise of a
clergyman, attempted to steal the crown and regalia from the Jewel
Office in the Tower, 9th May, 1671. He was very near succeeding,
for he had bound and wounded Edwards the keeper, and was
making off with his booty, but was overtaken and seized with
his associates. Blood, who was accused as being the ringleader in
this conspiracy, when questioned he frankly owned that he had
taken part in the enterprise, but refused to discover his accomplices,
" the fear of death (he said) should never induce him to deny a guilt
or betray a friend. " all these extraordinary circumstances made
him the subject of general conversation. Charles II. moved by the
influence of popular excitement, or from idle curiosity, granted him
a personal interview. Blood confessed to the king that " he had
been engaged with others in a design to kill him with a Carbine
(said to be in the vicinity of Battersea Priory) where His Majesty
often used to bathe (beneath the garden belonging to the Priory
was a Subterranean passage leading to the river-bank) that the
cause of this resolution was the severity exercised over the consciences
of the godly, in destroying their religious assemblies ; that when
he had taken his stand among the reeds on the other side of the
river full of these bloody resolutions he f ouud his heart checked
with an awe of Majesty ; that he not only relented himself, but di-
verted his associates irom their purpose; that he had long ago
brought himself to an entire indifference about life, which he now
gave for lost ; yet he could not forebear warning the king of the
danger which might attend his execution ; that his associates had
bound themselves by the strictest oaths to revenge the death of any
of their confederacy and that no precaution nor power could rescue
any one from the effects of their desperate resolution "Yet not-
withstanding these and other offences, the King not only pardoned
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but granted him an Estate of £500 per annum, thus this man who
had been regarded as a monster became a kind of favourite. He
lived to enjoy his pension about ten years, till being charged with
fixing an imputation of a scandalous nature on the Duke of
Buckingham, he was thrown into prison, where he died August 24,
1671.
Battersea Priory is a castellated building reported to have been
a Convent for Ursuline Nuns.
PBIOR was the Ecclesiastical title forlnerly given to the head of
a small Monastry, to which the designation of Priory was applied.
The Prior ranked next in position to the Abbot. Similarly the term
Prioress was applied to the head of a female convent. The title of
Grand Prior was given to the Commandants of the Grand Military
Priories of the Orders of John of Jerusalem, of Malta and of
the Templars.
Alien Priories were cells of the religious houses in England which
belonged to foreign Monasteries. The whole number is not exactly
ascertained; the Monasticon has given a list of 100. Weever, p.
338, says 110. The houses belonging to the several religious orders
which obtained in England and Wales, were, Cathedrals, Colleges,
Abbeys, Priories, Preceptories, Commandries, Hospitals, Friaries,
Hermitages, Chantries, and free Chapels. These were under the
direction and management of various officers ; the dissolution of
houses of this kind began as early as 1312, when the Templars
were suppressed; and in 1323 their lands, churches, advowsons,
and liberties, here in England were given by Ed. II., st. 3, to the
prior and brethren of the hospital of St. John at Jerusalem.
In the years 1390, 1437, 1441, 1459, 1497, 1505, 1508, and 1515,
several other houses were dissolved, and their revenues settled on
different Colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. From the year 1312
in the reign of Edward the 2nd to the close of the reign of Henry
VIII, 1547, the number of houses and places suppressed from first
to last as far as any calculations appear to have been made were
23, 4 ; besides the friars' houses and those suppressed by Wolsey,
and many small houses of which we have no particular account.
Henry VIII founded six new bishoprics of which Westminster was
one, which was changed by Queen Elizabeth into a Deanery with
twelve prebends and a school.
Persons desirous of obtaining information respecting Monasteries
should consult Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, (Lond. 1655, 1661,
1673). Also a new and greatly Enlarged Edition by Bandinel,
Caley and Ellis, published in 1817, 1830, and reissued in 1846.
URSUL1NES, or Nuns of St. Ursula: a sisterhood founded
about the year 1537, by ADgela Merici at Brescia, the community
numbering at that time, as many as six hundred. St. Angela was
born in 1511, at Desenzano, on the Lago de Garda, and died at
Brescia, 21st March, 1540. The institution was formally approved
of and confirmed by Paul III., in 1544, and it was on this occasion
that the name of Ursulines was given to the order after the famous
St. Ursula; a Virgin Martyr of the Eoman Catholic Calender
especially honoured m Germany, and especially at Cologne, which
is the reputed place of her Martyrdom. The Legend substantially,
in its present form, can be traced as fax back as the end of the 11th
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or beginning of the 12th Century, as it is to "be found in tlie revised
Edition of the Chronicle of S igebert of Gemblours (Pertzs Eerum
Germanicarum Scriptores VIII. 310) which was made between 1106
and 1111, " According to their writer, Ursula was the daughter of
the British King, Deonatis ; and on account of her distinguished
beauty, was sought in marriage by the son of a heathen Prince who
was originally named Holof ernes, but afterwards when a Christain
was named JEtherius. Her father was forced to yield to the demand ;
but Ursula made it a condition that her suitor should become a
Christian/andthat she should be allowed the space of three years, during
which she proposed, in company with her maidens to each of whom
should be assigned a thousand companions and a threc-oared galley
to convey them, to make a voyage of pious pilgrimage. The conditions
were accepted; the maidens to the number of 11,000 were collected
from all parts of the world, and at length the expedition set sail
from the British Coast. Arriving at the mouth of the Rhine they
sailed up the river to Cologne, and thence upwards to Basel, where
leaving their galleys, they proceeded by land to visit the tombs of
the Apostles at Rome. This Pilgrimage accomplished, they de-
scended the river to Cologne, which however, had meanwhile fallen
into the hands of an army of Hunnish invaders under the headship
of a Chief, who although not named is plainly the Attila of history.
Landing at Cologne in ignorant security, the pious Yirgins fell into
the hands of these barbarous heathens by whom they were all put
to the sword with the exception of Ursula, who for her beauty sake
was reserved as a prize for the chief. She too, however, as well as
another maiden, who had at first concealed herself in terror, demanded
to join her companions in Martyrdom and then the full number of
11,000 victims was made up. Heaven, however, interposed a host
of Angel Warriors who smote the cruel Huns ; Cologne was again
set free ; and in gratitude to their Martyred intercessors the citizens
erected a church on the site still occupied by the Church now known
under the name of St. Ursula. " Soon after the Reformation this
legend became the Subject of a most annimated controversy " on
one hand the Centuriators of Madgeburg exposed its weak points
with unsparing severity, on the other a Jesuit father, Crombach de-
voted an entire folio volume to the vindication of the narrative. "
Secular writers deny that the Legend has any foundation in his-
torical facts they trace no reverencing of Virgins in the Marty rologies
and missals till the latter half of the 9th Century. Many suggestions
have been offered by way of explanation of its startling improbability
viz, the alleged number of the Martyred victims 11,000. One of
these is that the belief arose from the name of a Virgin who was
really the companion of Ursula's Martyrdom called according to
the legend and according to a Missal which belonged to the Sarbonne,
Undecimilla for a number. The Roman Martyrology mentions the
Saint and her Companion, without stating their number. St. Ursula
was the Patroness of the Sarbonne. The record of the Martyrdom
in the Calender thus begins. " Ursula et Uhdecim Milla V. V. "
Ursula and Undecimilla Virgins was easily mistaken for Ursula et
Uhdecim Millia V. V. Ursula and Eleven thousand Virgins, "
Respecting further remarks concerning this Legend, suffice it to say,
" that while the most learned of the Catholic hagiographers, putting
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1*3*
aside the idea of a directly and unintentionally invented narrative,
have traced the origin of the legend to a real historical massacre of
a very large number of Christian Maidens, which took place during
the invasion of Attila, and soon after the celebrated battle of Chalons
in 451, all the modern writers of that Church are agreed in regarding
the details of the narrative, the number, the pilgrimages to Eome,
the interposition of the heavenly host, etc, as legendary embellish-
ments of the Medieval Chroniclers. "
Young as Angela was she had been elected the first Superior of
her Order and had ruled it well for the two or three years she lived.
At first the Ursulines practised charity and devoted themselves to
the education of Children without being bound to the rules of
Monastic Life. In 1571-2 Pope Gregory XTTT. made the Society a
religious order, subject to the rule of St. Augustine, at the solicitation
of Charles Borromeo the additional privileges thus conferred were
afterwards confirmed by Sextus V. and Paul V. " They add to three
religious vows a fourth to occupy themselves gratuitously in the educa-
tion of their own sex. The order is under the Superintendence of the
Bishops. In the 18th Century, it had 350 Convents. Many
governments which abolished Convents in general, protected the
Ursulines on account of their useful labours, particularly in the
practice of Christian Charity towards the sick. The Dictionnarie
de Tkeologic published in 1817, says that 300 Convents of these sisters
existed at that time in France, their dress is black with a leather
belt, and a rope for the purpose of self-scourging. Their congrega-
tions however did not universally accept the Monastic rule ; and in
Prance and Italy, there were Societies, the members of which only
took the vow of Charity, and gave instruction like their sisters.
Their dress was that commonly worn about 200 years ago by
widows. " In some countries however, their dress appears to
have been white, and to have varied in other respects as well as
colour. The Ursuline Sisters have several Educational Establish-
ments in Ireland, in England and the United States.
BATTERSEA GEAMMAH SCHOOL, St. John's Hill. Found-
ed under the Trust of Sir Walter St. John a.d. 1700. Scheme
revised a.d. 1873. Governors : — William Evill, Jun., Esq., Robert
Hudson, Esq., Pev. Evan Daniel, M.A., W. G. Baker, Esq., John
Costeker, Esq., Treasurer. , Eev. Canon Clarke, M.A., James H. T.
Connor, Esq., Eichard Hadfield, Esq., Thomas D. Tully, Esq.,
Charles Few, Esq., James Stiff, Esq. Head Master : — Eev. E. A.
Eichardson, M.A., late Scholar of Queen's College, Oxford. Assis-
tant Masters : — W. H. Bindley, B.A., late Scholar of Emmanuel
College, Cambridge, M. Michael, Bachelier-es-Lettres, University
of Paris, C. P. Martinnant, University of London, Mr. Badel,
WritiDg Master, Serjeant Major Doberty, Drill Master.
Scheme of Instruction. Eeligious Instruction, (according to the
principles of the Church of England) forms a regular part of the
teaching of each class. Those beys are excepted from the teaching
of the Church Catechism and Prayer Book, whose parents, (being
Dissenters), express a desire to that effect, in writing to the Head
Master. The Course of Study comprises the English, Latin,
Greek, French and German Languages ; Writing, Arithmetic, Book-
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keeping and Mathematics. History and Geography ; Natural Sci-
ence and Drawing. French is taught throughout the School;
German in the three highest classes only. Dbawing, (Freehand,
Model and Landscape), is taught in all classes. Technical Draw-
ing, (including Practical Geometry, and Perspective), and Painting
are taught only in the two upper classes. Science, (comprising
Physics, Chemistry and Botany), is taught only in the upper classes.
Vocal Music is taught.
School Terms and Holidays. The period of instruction is divided
into three terms, as nearly equal as possible. The holidays axe
four weeks at Christmas, three weeks at Easter, and six weeks at
Mid-summer, commencing about the 1st of August.
1st Term commences September 7th ; ends December 7th.
2nd. do. January 8th ; do. March 29th.
3rd. do. April 23rd ; do. July 31st
Tuition Fees. The annual payment for boys above 12 years of
age, £12; for boys under 12, £10. The -fees are to be paid ter-
minally and in advance.
Regulations for Admission. Application for admission must be
made either in person or by writing to the Head Master. No boy
will be admitted, who shall be found on examination unable to
read English, to write correctly and legibly from dictation and to
work sums in the first four rules of arithmetic. The boys must
attend at the school for examination on the first day of each term,
at two o'clock p.m. The Governors require a term's notice to be
given on the removal of a boy, or the payment of the terminal fee.
THE SOUTHLANDS PRACTISING MODEL SCHOOLS.—
Girls' School, seven years and upwards, 6d. per week. Infants'
Boys and Girls to seven years, 3d. per week.
ST. PETER'S SCHOOLS. Fee, 9d. per week.
ST. JOHN'S, Usk Eoad. Boys 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classes, 4d.
per week, the rest 3d. Girls 1st class 3d., the rest 2d. Infants
2d. per week*
ST. SAVIOUR'S INFANT. Infants 2d. Girls 3d. over 10
years of age 4d. per week.
CHRIST OHUECH NATIONAL SCHOOLS, Grove Eoad,
Falcon Lane, were erected from designs of Mr. C. E. Robins,
selected in competition, and were built by Messrs. Lathey Brothers
at a cost of £3,000. Accommodation is given for 200 boys, 200
girls and about the same number of infants. There are two
residences, one for the Master and the other for the Mistress. The
buildings form a picturesque group facing the roads on three sides
with intermediate play-grounds for each sex. Mr. Robins was also
the Architect for the British Schools at Wandsworth and other
Educational Buildings in the Parish, as the Walter St. John's Upper
Schools and the extension of the Training College, the Chapel of
which was decorated by him some seven years since. The office of
E. C. Robins, F.R.I.B.A,> etc., is No. 14, John Street, Adelphi.
ST. GEORGE'S NATIONAL SCHOOLS, built in 1857 from
designs furnished by Joseph Peacock, Architect, Bloomsburv Square.
Cost about £4,500 including a Parliamentary Grant of £1,500.
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tfhe Schools #ete enlarged in 1870. The Infant Schools tfefre
established in 1826. The following text of Scripture is engraved
on a stone outside the buildings.
" Prom a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto Salvation through faith which is in
Christ Jesus." — II. Timothy Hi 15.
Boys and Girls 4d. per week for one in a family, 6d. for two
brothers or sisters, and 7d. for three in a family, Infants 2d.
Erected outside St. Mary's Schools, Green Lane, is a tablet bearing
the following inscription : — " National Schools for Girls and Infants.
These buildings were erected by Miss Champion on land granted
by Earl Spencer, and opened April 10th, 1850, for the education of
the children of the poor on Scriptural principles." This tablet is
placed by order of the Parishioners in "Vestry assembled in Grateful
Kemembrance of her Munificent Charities to the Parish of
Battersea. — Kev. J. S. Jenkinson, M.A., Vicar* W. H. Wilson,
John Hunt, Churchwardens, 1855.
Within the Parish of Battersea there were in the year 1879,
Fourteen Voluntary Schools, viz : —
Aooommodft*
tion.
8nt Walter St. John's Up-stairs Middle-class for Boys.
Terms, 15/- to 25/- per quarter
Ditto Ground-floor Public Elementary School for Boys, t 4 g«
Payments, 6d. and 9d. per week. Head Master, Mr.
Taylor ; Assistants, Mr. Jones, B.A., Mr. E. Mills,
Mr. Oliver, and Mr. Blackman
St. Mast's, Green Lane. Girls; Mistress, Miss Keene.
Infants' Governess ; Miss Paul. Boys : Master, Mr. T.
Ryder. Fees, Boys and Girls 4d. a week, of which
at the year's end 2d. a week will be returned to all who
have attended more than 250 times. Infants 3d. a week,
of whioh Id. a week will be returned to regular
attendants at the year's end. . . . . . • 606
Chmst Chuboh, Grove Road. Master, Mr. Weston.
Mistress, Miss Paton. Infants, Miss Kemp . • . • 590
St. John's, TJsk Road, Head Master, Mr. Henry Smith.
Mistress, Miss Hook. Infants' Governess, Mrs. Hughes. 658
St. Pbteb's, Plough Lane. Head Master W. F. Normon.
Assistant, W. Beasley . . . . . . . . 180
St. Mark's, Battersea Rise. Infant Schools, Miss E.
Townsend. 4<L per week. . • . . . • 99
St. George's, New Road. Head Master, Mr. John Douth-
waite. Mistress, Miss Salter. Infants' Governess, Miss
Holding .. .. .. .. ..609
St. Geobge's Girls and Infants' Sohools, Ponton Road, Nine
Elms. Mistress, Miss B. Smith. Infants' Governess,
Miss A. E. Basnett .. , . .. . . 184
St. Saviottb's, Orkney Street. Mistress, Miss Merrett • • 201
Wesleyabt Model, High Street. . . . . . . . 557
St. Michael's, Bolingbroke Grove, (mixed). Mistress, Mrs.
M. Watson. 3d. per week. . . • • . • 152
GaovE Boys' Beitish, York Road, Established 1799, En-
larged 1840. Master, Mr. James Hammond. . . . . 196
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Gibls' Bbitish, Plough Lane. Mistress, Miss Mansell.
Assistant, Miss Willett. . , . . . . , , 297
St. Joseph and St. Maby, Battersea Park Bead. , , , , 466
Total 5284
In 1879 there were Nine Board Schools in Battersea : — *
Name of
School.
Builder.
When Opened.
Boys' Master.
Girls*
Mistress.
Infants'
Mistress.
Boliogbroke
Boad.
Mr. Spinks,
Clapham Junction.
Dec. 1, 1873
Mr. Pink.
Miss
Deacon.
Mrs. Pink
Battersea
Park.
Mr. Sheppard,
Bermondaey.
April 14,1674
„ Stokoe.
Mrs. Cox.
„ Parker
Winstanley
Boad.
Jan. 5, 1874.
„ Vince.
Miss Gale.
Miss
Blackburn.
Sleaford
Street.
Wffliain Higgs,
South Lambeth.
Aug. 10,1874
„ Wheaton.
MissPook.
Miss
Browett
Gideon
Boad.
Wall, Bros.,
Kentish Town.
May 15,1876
„ Lee.
Miss Dunn.
Mrs. Pyle.
Mantua
Street.
Sept. 1876
„ Mansell.
Miss
Spalding.
Miss
Spalding.
Street*
Feb. 1877
„ Morris.
Miss
Macleod.
Miss
IMfargfrftii.
Tennyson
Boad.
Mr. Tyerman.
Feb. 1877
„ Philips.
MissDayis.
Mrs. Lower.
Belleville
Boad. |
Mr. Thompson,
Camberwell Green
Aug. 13,1877
„ Barter
Mrs.
Christopher
Mrs.
Watson.
N.B. — There are Sunday Schools connected with the different
places of Worship some of which are held in Board Schools.
LAMBETH DIVISION LONDON SCHOOL BOARD.—
Accommodation Area and Cost of New Permanent Schools.
Name of School.
Children
Accommodation.
Area
sq. feet.
Cost of Site.
Cost of
Building.
£ <. d.
£ 8. d.
Sleaford Street
1,055
23,000
2543 1 4
8399 19 3
Tennyson Eoad
837
28,000
2376 18 6
7590 9 1
Gideon Eoad
776
19,700
3404 18 3
9921 7 5
Holden Street
1,101
26,887
3074 14 1
10305 1 7
Battersea Park
1,334
32,670
2378 5 5
7442 12 9
Bolinghroke Eoad
792
54,426
768 5 5
5980 15 10
Mantau Street
1,105
32,670
2334 5 4
11337 1 1
"Winstanley Eoad
1,127
17,792
3152 5 5
7948 4 7
Belleville Eoad
828
8,955
1661 6 2
10165 19 11
The first building erected for the London School Board, situated
in one of the most densely crowded localities of the East-end, was
•Since the First Edition of this Work was published, Tennyson Road School
has been enlarged in order to accommodate 400 Scholars. Landseer Street Board
School is held in the large room under the Chapel and accommodates 200 boys.
J. R. Ayris, Head Master. Ponton Road Board School, Nine Elms, opened for
girls 9th June, 1879, and for boys August 18th, the same year, has accommodation
for 350, Master, Mr. Chase. Mistress, Miss Nutcher. On the South side of
Battersea Park Road, between Lockington Road and Havelock Terrace a large
Board School has been built to hold about 1,400 children. Christ Church Schools,
Falcon Grove, have passed for the present into the hands of the School Board for
London. It is in contemplation to erect four more Board Schools in Battersea.
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opened in July, 1873, and since that time no fewer than 152 large
Schools have been completed with a total accommodation for about
182,000 children, and an average accommodation for 872 children
each. In addition to these, between 30 and 40 schools are now in
course of erection, and about 50 other schools have been determined
upon, thus the Board is most active in providing for the educational
requirements of the Metropolis. Mr. E. E. Eobson, F.B.I.B.A., is
the Architect of this Board.
The Board School in Winstanley Eoad accommodates about 1130
children, the site is the shape of a rhomboid, and the School has
been skilfully planned to make the most of it.
Gideon Boad Board Schools, the boys and girls' departments are
built upon arches to form covered play-grounds underneath. As
the site contains sufficient area, the infants' department has been
erected as a separate building.
The Board Schools are elaborately fitted up. Books, slates,
pencils, etc., for the scholars are provided. The terms for tuition
at the Board Schools in Battersea are : — Bolingbroke Boad, boys,
girls, and infants 2d. each Battersea Park, Mantau Street,
Winstanley Boad, Tennyson Boad, and Sleaford Street, boys and
girls 3d. each, infants 2d. Gideon Boad and Holden Street on the
Shaftesbury Park Estate, boys and girls 4d. each, infants 3d. each.
School Board Visitors in Battersea : — Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Dalton,
Mr. Myland, Mr. Fane, Mr. Chamings and Miss Sydney.
London Ratepayers' School Board Association Established 8th
October, 1870.
London or Metropolitan School Board elected 29th Nov., 1870.
Regulations for School Boards issued 21st December, 1870.
First election of Metropolitan School Board (Lord Lawrence,
Chairman). Arrangements for erecting or adapting buildings for
New School Board, December, 1871.
London School Board Education Scheme proposed 23rd June, 1 871 .
The London School Board occupied their new buildings on Victoria
Embankment, 30th September, 1874.
Second Metropolitan School Board elected; religious party
strongest. Sir Charles Beed, M.P., Chairman, November, 1878.
Sir Charles Beed, Chairman of the School Board for London,
died March 25, 1881. "Was interred at Abney Park Cemetery,
Wednesday, March 30, 1881.
Fourth Metropolitan School Board elected, 1879.
E. N. Buxton, Esq., Chairman of the London School Board.
LONDON SCHOOL BOARD, LAMBETH DIVISION *
Miss Hen. Mtjlleb,
T. E. Helleb, Esq.,
Chas. B. White, Esq.,
Bev. GL M. Mtjepht,
James Sttef, Esq.,
Stanley Kemp-Welsh, Esq.
* The Division of Lambeth is thus defined : The Division of Lambeth shall in-
clude the Parliamentary Borough of Lambeth, all the parts of the Parishes of
Lambeth and Camberwell outside the Boundary of the said Borough and the
Wandsworth District, as described in Schedule B. and Part I. of the Metropolitan
Local Management Act, 1855, (that is to say) the Parishes of Clapham, Tooting
Graveney, Streatham, St. Mary, Battersea, (excluding Penge), Wandsworth, and
Putney, (including) Roehampton. There are 63 Board Schools in the whole of
theLambeth Division for the present year (1879), and 45,000 children on the
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The Elementary Education Act of 1870 aims at the compulsory
supply of school accommodation in those districts in which there is a
deficiency. The general survey under the Education Act of the
School provision of every Parish in England did not commence till
the 1st of May, 1871.
By virtue of the Elementary Education Act, 1876, and of the Bye-
Laws of the School Board for London, the following will be, on and
after the 1st January next, the state of the law as regards children,
their parents and employers within the Metropolis.
I. — Kegttlations affecting Parent and Child. The term " par-
ent " includes guardian, and every person who is liable to maintain,
or has the actual custody of the child. The parent of every child
between the ages of 5 and 14 must cause such child to receive
efficient elementary instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic*
A. — By the Bye-Laws of the School Board, which continue in force,
the parent of every child between the ages of 5 and 13 must cause
such child to attend an efficient School during the whole time for
which the School is open. The following cases are excepted : — (a)
where a child is receiving efficient instruction in some other manner.
(jb) where a child is not less than 10 years of age has received a
certificate that he has passed the 5th Standard of the Code of 1871 :
in which case he is wholly exempt from attendance at School, (e)
where a child of not less than 10 years of age has obtained a certi-
ficate that he is beneficially and necessarily at work : in which case
he is exempt from the obligation to attend School more than 10
hours a week, (d) where the child cannot attend School through
sickness or other unavoidable cause. If a parent commits a breach
of the Bye-Laws he may be summoned before a magistrate, and
fined 5s. ; and the child may be ordered to attend School. B. — By
the Act of 1876, if either — (1) the parent of a child above the age
of five years who is prohibited from being taken into full-time
employment, habitually and without reasonable excuse, neglects to
provide efficient elementary instruction for his child ; or, (2) a child
is found habitually wandering, or not under proper control, or in
the company of rogues, vagabonds, disorderly persons, or reputed
criminals ; the parent may be summoned before a magistrate, and
the child may be ordered to attend School. If the attendance order
be not complied with, the parent, if in fault, may be fined 5s. ; and
in cases of continued non-compliance, the fine may be repeated at
intervals not less than a fortnight. The child may also, under
certain circumstances, be sent to a certified day industrial School,
there to be detained during certain hours each day for a stated
period ; or to an ordinary certified industrial School, there to be
wholly detained for a stated period, which, however, must not extend
beyond the time when the child will reach the age of 16 years. In
either case, the parent may be made to contribute to the maintenance,
of the child. II. — Regulations affecting Employe and Child.
The term "employer" includes a "parent" who employs his child
♦All Elementary Schools in the receipt of Government Grants are annually
examined by H.M. Inspector of Schools, and a report of their condition for-
warded to tne Education Department. Board Schools are further visited and
reported on by an Inspector specially employed by the Board itself for that
purpose;
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by way of trade or lor the purposes of gain. A.— No person may
employ, in the year 1877, any child who is under the age of nine
years ; or in subsequent years, any child who is under the age of 10
years. B. — No person may employ a child within certain limity of
age, unless the child shall have obtained either a certificate of pro-
ficiency that he has reached the fourth Standard of the Code of
1876 ; or a certificate that he has previously made 250 attendances
at least, in not more than two Schools, during each year for a cer-
tain number of years, whether consecutive or not, as follows : —
Age of Children,
who may not be employed.
Unless they shall have obtain-
ed a Certificate.
Either of Pro-
ficiency, ac-
cording to the
under-
mentioned
Standard.
Or ; of pre-
vious due At-
tendance for
the under-
mentioned
number of
years.
In 1877
1878
1879
1880
Children between 9 and
12, with the exception
of those who were 1 1
before the 1st January,
1877
Children between 10 and
18, with the exception
of those who were 1 1
before the 1st January,
1877
Children between 10 and
14, with the exception
of those who were 11
before the 1st January,
1877
Children between 10 and
14
Children between 10 and
14
Fourth
Standard of
1876
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Two
Two
Three
Four
Five
1881
and subse-
quent years
The penalty incurred by an employer who acts in contravention
of the above provisions is a sum not exceeding 40s. But no penalty
will be incurred by the employer (a) if the child was lawfully em-
ployed on the 15th August, 1876. (b) If the child obtains efficient
instruction by attendance at School for full time or in some other
equally efficient manner. (*) If the employment be during a speci-
fied time allowed by the School Board for purposes of husbandry,
ftc. and if the child be over eight years of age and be so employed.
(d) If the child be employed and be attending School in accordance
with the provisions of the Factory Acts, or of the Bye-Laws of the
School Board, (e) If the employer be bona fide deceived as to the
age of the child or as to his having obtained a certificate; or if some
agent, without the knowledge of the employer, shall have employed
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the child — in which latter case the agent will be liable to the pen-
alty. Although the employer be exempt from penalty, when the
child is lawfully employed under the above regulations, the parent
will still be liable for any breach of the Bye-Laws, where the latter
are more stringent. III. — ^Regtjlations as to the Payment or
Eemission of Fees. If a parent is unable, from poverty, to pay
the School fee of his child, he may apply either to the Guardians of
the Poor for the Parish where he lives, or to the School Board.
The Guardians, if satisfied of the poverty of the parent, must pay
the school fee, not exceeding 3d. a week, of the child, in any Public
Elementary School which the parent may select. If the parent
select a Board School, the School Board, on his application, may, if
they think fit, remit the school fee. The payment or remission of
the school fee will not subject the parent to any disability. IV. —
Free Instruction. Subject to conditions to be made by an order
of the Education Department, a child under 1 1 years of age who
obtains a certificate that he has attended a Public Elementary School
350 times a year, for two, three, four or five years according to
circumstances, and, also, that he has attained a Standard (to be fixed
by the Department) in Beading, Writing, and Arithmetic, will be
entitled to have his school fees paid for him by the Education De-
partment at a public Elementary School for three years more.
BY OEDEE OF THE BOARD.
Uth November, 1876.
In 1879 there were 63 Board Schools in the whole of the Lambeth
Division and 45,000 children on the rolls.
In Battersea there are 68 taverns for the sale of spirits, etc., and
84 beer-houses, making a total of 152 public-houses. There are
also 29 coffee-shops.
A COFFEE PALACE IN OLD BATTERSEA.— On Saturday
afternoon, Dec. 13, 1879, a coffee palace, belonging to the Coffee
Taverns Company, Limited, was opened at Lombard Market, York-
road, Battersea. This is the 22nd tavern of the kind opened by the
Company, and carried on, in regard to the business, on the same
principle as others. A well furnished room is provided for public
meetings and other gatherings.
LATCHMEEE GEOVE, which is almost encircled with Eailway
embankments, was noted for its piggeries. The lane once known
as " Pig Hill," leading from Battersea Fields to Lavender Hill,
is now a wide open road and forms the west boundary of the
Shaftesbury Park Estate.
Somewhere near the foot of " Pig Hill " were two places called
in olden time " Plague Spots " where many bodies of persons who
had died of the Plague were buried.
THE SHAFTESBUEY PAEK ESTATE* formerly the site of
Poupart's Market Ground, covers an area of 42 acres, contains about
1 1 00 houses and 8000 inhabitants. The houses are built on the
•The Artizans' Labourers and General Dwellings Company (Limited). Capital
jfljOOOjOOO in 100,000 shares of ^10 each (paid up capital, ^"583,000) Chief Office:
34, Great George Street, Westminster, S.W. Office hours :— 10 till 5 Saturdays
10 till 1. Estate Offices 221 Eversleigh Road, Shaftesbury Park, S.W. 35, A
Street, Queen's Park. W.
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uaost improved sanitary principles, they are pTettily and artistically
constructed, having small gardens back and front ; on either side of
the streets are rows of lime and plane trees which in the course of a few
years will give the "Work peoples' Town," a beautiful and pleasant
aspect. The Houses are built in four classes, containing 5, 6, 7, and 8
rooms respectively, (the latter including a bath room), and the weekly
rental (at first was) 6/6, 7/6, and 8/-, and the best class £26 and £30 per
year, which sums, except the best class, includes rates and taxes,
but if the tenant is buying the house under the repayment table,
the rates, taxes, and ground rent have to be paid by him in addition
to the purchase money. The purchasing prices of the houses are
£170, £210, £260, £310, and £360; and they are leased for a
term of 99 years subject to annual ground rent of £3 10s., £4 4s.,
and £4 10s. according to the class of house. Each dwelling is
thoroughly ventilated by means of improved ventilating valves,
which are fixed to every room and connected with air shafts in all
the external walls and the same are applied beneath the floors, the
houses have concrete foundations and are considered dry and
healthy. *It is intended to convert the premises used as the Estate
Agency Office into a Club house, equal in accommodation to any at
the AY est End, with Library, reading, smoking, and billiard rooms ;
a small hall to hold about 350 is being built which among other
things is intended to be let to benefit clubs and such like societies.
It is suggested that the present temporary hall be converted into
Swimming and Wasldng Baths. Brassey Square a space about one
and a quarter acres, the Estate Company are going to make into a
garden like that on the Thames Embankment, in which seats aro to
be placed and it is intended to have a band to play there in summer
months. Beside Co-operative Stores, there is a Social Review con-
nected with the Estate, and a Newspaper has been started called
Directors.— The Hon. Evelyn Ashley, M.P., Chairman, H. R. Droop, Esq.,
R. E. Farrant, Esq., John Kempster, Esq., Rev H. V, LeBas, F. D. Mocatta,
Esq., Samuel Morley, Esq. M.P., Ernest Noel, Esq. M.P., John Peace, Esq.,
W. H. Stone, Esq. Bankers. — The London and Westminster Bank, Lothbury,
E.G. Solicitors. — Messrs. Ashurst, Morris, Crisp and Co., 6, Old Jewry, E.C.,
Manager J. V. Sigvald Muller, Esq. Secretary. — Samuel E. Piatt.
The Company was established for the erection of improved dwellings near to the
great centres ot industry to carry out the objects of the Company in London, large
estates have been secured near Clapham Junction and the Harrow Road, that
near Clapham Junction called Shaftesbury Park.
* The present weekly rental, which includes rates and taxes, except in the case oi
the first-class Houses is as follows :— An ordinary fourth class House 7/6 third
class 8/6 second class 10/- first Class 10/- and n/-. The shops, lower houses,
those with larger gardens than ordinary, and some other exceptional houses are
subject to special arrangements both as to Rental and purchase.
♦The scheme thus proposed has been abandoned. The temporary Hall has
been taken down and seven houses with shops erected on the site, also a
Temperance Hall. The Shaftesbury Club and Institute, Eversleigh House,
Lavender Hill, was opened on Saturday, Feb. 2nd, 1878, at 3 o'clock p.m.
Previously a movement had been in progress to establish a Club and Institute for
the benefit of those large classes of working men who live upon the Shaftesbury
Park Estate, and in the crowded neighbourhoods in the immediate vicinity.
Nothing of the kind was in existence, and, as a consequence, there was no
efficient corrective to the growing evils of intemperance and wasted time among
these classes of the people. The movement met with a great and increasing
suppoit from the working men themselves, and the Provisional Committee
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" The South Western Advertiser."* The London Board School on
the estate is situated in Holden Street. Between houses Nos. 21 —
23 in the Grayshott Eoad a stone may be seen bearing the following
inscription " Healthy homes the first condition of Social progress.
This stone was laid by the Right Honourable the Earl of Shaftesbury,
K.Gk, for the Artizans, Labourers and General Dwellings Company,
Limited, on the 3rd of August, 1872. E. Austin, Architect.
No Beer-shop, Inn or Tavern is erected on the Estate but it must
not be inferred from this, that all the inhabitants are Total Ab-
stainers. However the ostensible and important objects of the
Estate Company are to help the Working Classes to become owners
of the House they occupy ; to raise their position in the social scale ;
and to spread a moral influence over their class, tending to foster
habits of Industry, Sobriety and Frugality. Obedience to moral
and physical laws, the right and proper use of material appliances
for sanitary purposes, have a tendency to prolong human life and
to make life more enjoyable, and the Supreme Governor of the
Universe hath so ordained that it should be so. According to the
metropolitan average, the deaths should have been 194, but they only
numbered 100. In 1877 the births on the Shaftesbury Park Estate
were 284. Connected with the Estate is a Volunteer Rifle Corps
known as the " 26th Surrey." Mr. Samuel E. Piatt, Secretary to
the Estate Company; Mr. J. V. Muller, Manager. Office, 221,
Eversleigh Road. The Missionary who visits in this district is Mr.
Yost, who holds meetings in the Temperance Hall, Elsley Road.
Eastward of the Shaftesbury Park Estate is situated Beaufoy's
Chemical Works. Entrance, Lavender Hill. Mr. Matthew Cannon,
Manager.
This site was formerly a brickfield. When Mr. Henry Beaufoy
purchased the land comprising some 1 7 acres he named it "Pays Bas,
signifying in French a low country. Recently 7 acres have been let
on Lease of 99 years for building purposes, it is proposed to erect
thereon 230 houses. In this locality and that of Latchmere it is
said the bricks were made for the construction of Chelsea Hospital.
THE METROPOLITAN AUTIZAN'S AND LABOURERS
DWELLINGS ASSOCIATION have just erected three blocks of
houses in the Battersea Park Road, designed by Charles Barry, E^q.,
appointed has been busily engaged in the work of organising the Club. The
objects of the Club and Institute are thus stated in the Draft Rules : —
'* To afford to its members the means of social intercourse, mutual helpfulness,
mental and moral improvement, industrial welfare, and rational recreation. The
Club shall not identify itself with aiay political, social, or theological party. As
funds permit, there shall be provided : — Library and Reading Rooms, supplied
with Books, Periodicals, and Newspapers ; Educational Classes ; Conversation,
Refreshment, and Smoking Rooms, in which various games may be played;
Billiard and Bagatelle Rooms ; Popular Lectures and Entertainments ; Rooms
for the Meetings of Benefit and Friendly Societies." Subscription is. a month
2s. 6d. a quarter, ios. a year. Arthur George Thome, Hon. Secretary. Mr.W.
Swindlehurst was the Secretary to the Estate Company. The purchase of the
Freehold Land (it is said) cost the Estate Company £ 28,000. Recently the
house rents on the Estate have been raised.
The entrance to Shaftesbury Hall is in Ashbury Road.
* The following Newspapers, which are published weekly, contain (Battersea)
Local Intelligence and District Board News. "The South London Press," 2d.
"Battersea and Wandsworth District Times," id. "Mid-Surrey Gazette," id.
" The Clapaam Observer," id. " The South Western Star," id.
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Resident of the British Institute of Architects. Accommodation in
A Block for 98 families with 3 and 4 rooms each. There are two
B Blocks, 45 families in a block, having accommodation for 90
families with one or two rooms each for labourers. The whole of
the front window-frames facing the main road are glazed with Plate
Glass. Between the pathway and the Blocks is erected an iron pali-
sade and some evergreens have been planted within the enclosure.
There axe underground Laundries at the north end of the Blocks
with all necessary appliances. The B Blocks have three tiers of
balconies supported by iron columns communicating with the
dwellings on the upper storeys. The roofs are tiled by the Broom-
hall Tile Company. The Builders, are Messrs. Downs & Co.,
Southwark. Major-General 8cott, Secretary, office, 9, Victoria
Road, Westminster Abbey. It is intended to erect more Blocks on
the laad adjoining. Chairman, John Walter, Esq.,
The buildings are intended as models of the dwellings for Artizans
and Labourers, to replace the habitations condemned in various
parts of the Metropolis under the Act of 1875. They are built in
flats as nearly fire-proof as may be. Each tenement in the Artizans
dwellings and each block of four rooms for those of the labourers
are entirely separated from others by an open space, each tenement
has a constant supply of fresh water, the use of a wash-house and
a coal bunker, a dust shoot, and generally great care has been
taken to insure to the tenants all the advantages of the best known
sanitary appliances. Within the outer door which opens on to a
general staircase, are all the conveniences except the wash-houses
which are detatched from the building. These tenements contain in
most cases, three rooms, viz : kitchen, bed-room, and sitting-room.
The labourers blocks are so divided that they can be let singly, or
in twos, threes, or fours. The dwellings were formally opened on
Saturday Afternoon, June 23rd, 1877, by the Earl of Beaconsfield.
The ceremony was graced by a select company, among whom were
in addition to the Prime Minister, the Earl and Countess of Ross-
lyn, the Countess of Scarborough, the Earl and Countess Stanhope,
the Lord Chancellor and Lady Cairns, Lady E. Drummond, the
Marquis of Bristol, the Earl of Echester, the Earl of Verulam, the
Bishop of Winchester, the Right Hon. R. A. Cross, M.P., Mrs. and
Miss Walter, Mr. W. H. Smith, M.P., Mr. Roebuck, M.P., Mr.
Montague Oorrie, Mr. Algernon Turner, Major-General H. Y. D.
Scott, Manager of the Association, and numerous Members of Par-
liament. Her Majesty who takes a deep interest in this movement
for the improvement of the dwellings of her people, commanded
Earl Beaconsfield to express Her wish that Her name may be asso-
ciated with this institution and that in future these buildings will
be called the Victoria Dwellings for Artizans.
On the North side of Battersea Park Road is the site for Messrs.
Spiers and Pond's New Steam Laundry, contiguous to which
(Propert's) Blacking Manufactory is now built. Mr George
Ashby Lean, Architect; Mr. Waters, Builder, The Common,
Ealing.
Up the centre of the meadow a new road is to be made 50 feet
wide. About forty years ago this ground yielded as fine a crop of
wheat as any in England. At that time certain Notice Boards were
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erected with the words " Any person found plucking an ear of Corn
will be fined one shilling" An old parishioner, who is still living,
told the writer that he had been fined three shillings because he
had picked up three ears of corn which another man bad thrown
away.
BATTEE8EA (Latchmebe, formerly called Lechmore) ALLOT-
MENTS cover an area of 16£ acres, and are let to the industrial
poor of the parish to encourage habits of industry, the land was
applied to the present purpose in the year 1835. Originally there
were 74 allotments now there are 156. The Allotments let at 3/-
a plot, each alottment being divided into 10 plots. Application
must be made to the Churchwardens, William Evill and Joseph
William Hiscox, Esqrs.
Pleasantly situated between the Albert and Bridge Eoads, Bat-
tersea Park Road, is Dove Dale Place, founded by the late Mrs.
Lightfoot of Balham, (Widow of the late Dr Lightfoot) for persons
in reduced circumstances professing godliness, whether in connec-
tion with the Church of England or members of other Christian
Churches having small yearly private incomes of their own. There
are twelve accommodations of two small rooms each, there are two
four-room cottages one at each end with gardens. In the middle
of the centre block is a Chapel and over the window is the repre-
sentation of a Dove bearing an Olive Branch. There are some
pecuniary advantages connected with the foundation. It is in the
hands of Trustees.
On a plot of ground by the main road opposite Dove Dale Place
stands an old boiler that belonged to one Andrew Mann — it has
stood (we are told) where it is for the last twenty five years. Before
its removal to Battersea, it stood on a piece of land in Yauxhall
Bridge Eoad.
LAMMAS H A LL situated in Bridge Eoad West, is Licensed
Pursuant to Act of Parliament of the 25th of King George 2nd,
was erected in 1858. The Hall will seat about 400 persons and
may be hired for lectures, concerts, and other public purposes. The
front part of the building is used as a Vestry Hall and for the
transaction of other parochial business. A more commodious Hall
is urgently needed in a central part of the parish, so also are re-
quired Baths, Lavatory, and a Public Library. Lammas Hall owes
its origin from a fund which was paid by the Battersea Park Com-
missioners for the extinguishment of the Lammas Eights to the
Churchwardens, by resolution of the Vestry after Several schemes
had been brought forward they proposed to build a Hall and Vice
Chancellor Stuart appointed the Trustees hence its name "Lammas
Hall." Mr Thomas Harrap, Vestry Clerk.
THE UNION WOEKHOTJSE, erected in 1836 is situated
within the boundary of Battersea parish at the junction of East
Hill and St. John's Hill, it is an extensive brick building with
accommodation for 833 inmates. The Infirmary adjoining was ad-
ded in 1870 at a cost of £40,000. The Casual Ward in addition is
constructed for 117 casual paupers. The Union comprises Batter-
sea, Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting, and Wandsworth with
a population in 1871 of 125,000 and an area of 11,488 acres-
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John Sanders, Solicitor and Clerk; Edward H. Taylor, Assistant
Clerk; Eev William Armstrong, Chaplain; T. H. Cress well, Medical
Officer; John Hodge, Master; Mrs Martha Hodge, Matron; Mr.
Pettman, Miwionary*
Old Battersea "Workhouse, which has long since been pulled
down, was situated in the neighbourhood of Battersea Square. In
the same neighbourhood is the " Priory," now the residence of Mr.
Oakman. Not far from the Eaven Tavern was the " Cage," in
Surrey Lane, for the confinement of petty criminals. Near the
Prince's Head Tavern was the Pound in which cattle were enclosed
for trespass until replevied or redeemed. Also a wooden machine
called the " Stocks" to put the legs of offenders in, for securing
disorderly persons, and by way of punishment in divers cases,
ordained by statute, &c, was erected without the gates of Battersea
Churchyard, near the waterside.
In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, writes Eobert
Chambers in his "Book of Days," there flourished at the corner of
the lane leading from the Wandsworth Eoad to Battersea Bridge a
tavern yclept "The Falcon," kept by one Eobert Death — a man
whose figure is said to have ill comported with his name, seeing
that it displayed the highest appearance of jollity and good con-
•The poor of England till the time of Henry VIII. subsisted as the poor of
Ireland until 1838 entirely upon private benevolence. Judge Blackstone observes
that till the Statute 26, Henry VIII. cap. 26, he finds no compulsory method for
providing for the poor, but upon the total dissolution of the Monasteries,
abundance of Statutes were made in the reign of King Henry VIII., Edward VI.
and Elizabeth which at last established the Poor's Kate, a legal assessment for
the support of the poor. Before the Reformation immense sums of money were
appropriated for charitable purposes, and notwithstanding many abuses the
religious order of those days never so far lost sight of this original institution as
ever to neglect the poor. The famous Statute of the 43rd of Elizabeth, 1601, by
which Overseers were appointed for Parishes is the basis of all the poor laws in
England. By Statute 23, Edward HI., 1342, it was enacted that none should
give alms to a beggar able to work. An Act was passed 1531, empowering
Justices to grant licenses to poor and impotent persons to beg within certain
limits of territory. By the Common Law, the poor were to be sustained by
"parsons, rectors of the church and parishioners so that none should die for
default of sustenance," and by 15 Richard II. impropriators were obliged to
distribute a yearly sum to the poor. An act of 160 1 directed that every parish
shall provide for its own poor by an assessment to be levied by the Justices in
General Sessions and embodied regulations as to how assessment should be
made and applied. In 1782 Workhouse Unions were introduced by an
Act called Gilbert's Act. The Act of 1834 among other changes established the
system of Poor Law Unions. In Scotland the poor were really maintained by
the private Alms of individuals and by certain funds under the management of
the Kirk Session, which when regularly constituted consisted of the Minister,
Elders, Session Clerk and Kirk Treasurer. The Presbytery was by law appointed
Auditor of the Poor's Accounts of the several parishes. In the event of any
difficult case arising in the discharge of this duty the Presbytery could lay it
before the Synod for advice. " Scotland and Ireland have been legislated for
separately, their popr laws are similar to the English in principle and practice;
both are administered by a Central Board, which supervises the local bodies
charged with relief, and in both the rate is levied on the annual value of real
property. The present system in Scotland was instituted by the 8th and 9th
Vic. c. 83 (1845). Scotland is divided into 883 parishes, some of them combined
for Workhouse accommodation. The relief is administered by a parochial board,
appointed by ratepayers, the Burgh Magistrate and the Kirk Session. They
appoint Inspectors of the poor who act as relieving officers. The Scotch law
differs from the English and Irish in allowing no relief to able bodied adults/'
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dition. A merry-hearted artist, named John Nixon, passing the
house one day, found an undertaker's company regaling themselves
at 'Death's door.' haying just discharged their duty to a rich Nabob
in a neighbouring churchyard, they had . . . found an oppor-
tunity for refreshing exhausted nature ; and well did they ply the
joyful work before them. The artist, tickled at a festivity among
such characters in such a place, sketched them on the spot. This
sketch was soon after published, accompanied by a cantata from
another hand of no great merit, in which the foreman of the
company, Mr. Sable, is represented as singing as follows, to the
tune of ' I've kissed and I've prattled with fifty fair maids * : —
" Dukes, Lords, have I buried, and squires of fame,
And people of every degree ;
But of all flie fine jobs that ere came in my way,
A funeral like this for me.
This, this is the job
That fills the fob;
Oh! the burying of a Nabob for me!
Unfeather the hearse, put the pall in the bag,
Give the horses some oats and some hay ;
Drink our next merry meeting and quackeries increase
With three times three and hurra!
A portion of the Falcon Tavern erected about 275 years ago
at the end of Falcon Lane still remains with the old witch elm tree in
front, its hollow trunk, to which a door is attached, answers the
purpose of a bin or cupboard where hay is put with which to feed
norses, and the old wooden-cased pump, fastened with rusty hold-
fasts to the tree, may still be seen. On the 15th of January, 1811,
a printed engraving was published representing "Undertakers
regaling " by this road-side inn, a copy of which may now be seen
within. At that time E. Death was the landlord, he had written
outside the tavern in large characters, Robert Death, Dealer in
Genuine Bum, Gin, Wine ; an Ordinary on Sundays ; Tea, Coffee
and Hot Rolls; Syllabubs and Cheese-cakes in the highest per-
fection. The subjoined doggerel lines as a skit or burlesque on the
publican's name is published with the engraving : —
" stop not here ye sottish wights,
For purl nor ale nor gin,
For if you stop whoe'er alights
By Death is taken in.
When having eat and drank your fill
Should ye, hapless case,
Neglect to pay your landlord's bill
Death stares you in the face.
With grief sincere I pity those
Who've drawn themselves this scrape in,
Since from this dreadful gripe, heaven knows,
Alas! there's no escaping.
This one advice my friend pursue
Whilst you have life and breath, *
Ne'er pledge your host for if you do
You U surely drink to Death."
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The Falcon Tavern is now kept "by Mr. J. O. Brown.
Mr. Edward Walford in his work entitled "Old and New
London," published by Cassell, Petter and Galpin, London; in
Part 66 at Page 479, writes, "Battersea has other claims to
immortality : in spite of the claims of Burton and Edinburgh, there
can be little doubt, if Puller is a trustworthy historian, that one of
the ozierbeds of the river side here was the cradle of bottled ale.
The story is thus circumstantially told in 'The Book of Anecdote' : —
Alexander Nowell, Dean of 6t Paul's and Master of Westminster
School in the reign of Queen Mary, was a supporter of 'the new
opinions ' and also an excellent angler. But, writes Puller, while
Nowell was catching of fishes Bishop Bonner was after catching of
Nowell, and would certainly have sent him to the Tower if he
could have caught him, as doubtless he would have done had not a
good merchant of London conveyed him away safely upon the seas.
It so happened that Nowel had been fishing upon the banks of the
Thames when he received the first intimation of his danger, which
was so pressing that he dared not even go back to his house- to
make any preparation for his flight. like an honest angler, he had
taken with him on this expedition provisions for the day, in the
shape of some bread and cheese and some beer in a bottle ; and on
his return from London and to his own haunts he remembered that he
had left these stores in a safe place upon the bank, and there he
resolved to look for them. The bread and cheese of course were
gone ; but the bottle was still there — ' yet no bottle, but rather a
gun: such was the sound at the opening thereof.' And this
trifling circumstance, quaintly observes Puller, ' is believed to have
been the origin of bottled ale in England, for casualty (*.*. accident)
is mother of more invention^ than is industry.' "
On the road to Wandsworth and facing Plough Lane was " Ye
Plough Inn," erected a.b. 1701. In front of this Inn grew an oak
to which an iron ring was fastened, and it is supposed that here
Dick Turpin the notorious highwayman occasionally reined up his
bonny black mare. When the Inn was re-built in 1875-6 the trunk
was removed to the front of the "Old House " in Plough Lane,
which formerly belonged to Mr. Carter, who owned extensive
market gardens about here. The following lines y. ere written in
commemoration of the famous Old Plough Tree, and the present
landlord has had the lines enframed for his customers to read : —
" This stump the remains of the Old Oak Tree,
That flourish'd when knights of the road roamed free,
When bands of lawless yet chivalrous knights
Struck fear to the hearts of purse-proud wights !
This gay old king of the forests wilds,
His proud head bow'd to the sun's bright smiles,
In glorious prime when his branches were strong
As shoulders of Atlas in time long gone !
His leaves in the murmuring breeze did fling
Their sweet green shade o'er the Old Plough Inn !
When the knights of the road of their deeds did sing,
'Twas there to his side was first fixed the ring
To which Dick Turpin the gallant and bold
When going to the Plough to spend his bright gold
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Did tether his mare, swift Bonny Black Bess*
When rider and horse stopp'd here to get rest.
Removed from his place when the Old Plough's head
By time's fell decree in ruin was laid!
This stump that remains of the Old Plough tree
In front of "The Old House,' in Plough Lane you may see,
Here placed in memory of the Old Plough Inn
An aged memento of things that have been !
Here in his last stage, sapped branchless and grey.
Here in cool September, the trunk's first day,
In the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six,
Was planted by Messrs. J. Goodman and Wilkes."
William Solloway.
Situated in Plough Lane, and nearly opposite the residence of
the late Rev. I. M. Soule, were Alms Houses for eight poor widows,
founded by Mrs. Henry Tritton. The whole of this estate is now
built upon and is called May Soule Road.
At Lawn House, now occupied by Mr. Miller the Barge Builder
in Lombard Road, of the Firm of Nash and Miller, lived Mr.
Hammett, of the firm of Eisdale and Hammett, Bankers. He was
a great patron of the rowing fraternity and kept an open house two
days in the year. He awarded the prizes for the Kean's Sovereigns
and the Funny Boat Club races on the lawn in front of his house.
The Old Swan Tavern (now kept by Mr. R. Turner) nearly
opposite the Star and Garter, was a kind of half-way house
between Lambeth and Putney for the Eaton and Westminster
scholars who used to put in here when training for the great row-
ing match so strongly contested between them, but who in the zenith
of their fame never obtained such popularity as the annual boat
race has done of late between the Cantabs and Oxonians.
An old-fashioned print represents the former Parish Church of
Battersea with square tower crowned with lantern and pinnacles, not
far off is the Swan Tavern with stairs leading down to the river
where persons arriving by boat might land. An excellent wood-
cut engraving in " Ly sons' s Environs" represents not only the New
Parish Church but the sign of the Old Swan with two necks.
Charles Dibdin in a ballad opera entitled "The Waterman; or the
first of August," first performed at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket,
August 8th, 1774, Scene HE. — Battersea — represents a room at the
Swan, with a large open window looking on the Thames in which
Master Bundle the honest gardener and hen-pecked husband; and
Mrs. Bundle the termagant wife, the Star of Battersea, figure con-
spicuously. Reference is also made in Scene I. to the "Black
Raven," now kept by W. Ambrose. It is said that in olden time
this was a Posting Establishment for Royalty.
Situated on Wandsworth Common and overlooking the London
Brighton and South Coast and South- Western Railways are the
Royal Victoria Patriotic Schools for Boys and Girls, children of
deceased soldiers, sailors and marines. Founded by Her Most
Gracious Majesty, 1854-56. The Patriotic Asylum was endowed
by the Commissioners of the Royal Patriotic Fund which was
instituted in 1854 for the purpose of giving "assistance to the
widows and orphans of those who fell during the Crimean and
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more recent wars, and to provide schools for their children"
Within the boundary of Battersea Parish is situated the Asylum
for Boys but the Asylum for Girls which is some three hundred
yards distant is in the parish of Wandsworth. 200 boys are in the
Asylum. Superintendent, W. Bidpath ; Office, 5, St Martinis Place,
Trafalgar Square; Secretary, W. H. Mugford, Esq.
Near the southern boundary of the parish and not far from
Wandsworth Common Bailway Station, are situated St. James'
Industrial Schools. *This Institution stands on a portion of 22
acres of land purchased of the Bight Honourable Frederick Earl
Spencer, K.G., and conveyed to the Governors and Directors of the
Poor of the Parish of St. James', Westminster, by Deed bearing
dates, the thirtieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred
and fifty. The first stone laid 24th September, 1851. The School
opened 22nd June, 1852. F. Parkis, Superintendent. There are
now 141 boys in the schools. On leaving a premium of £10 is
given to each boy to learn a trade. Mrs. Anne Newton, late of
Upper Harley Street in the Parish of Mary-le-bone, widow,
deceased, by her Will left, dated the 12th of March, 1806, £1,000.
£429 19s. 3d. has been received through the Court of Chancery.
The interest is given to the best boy selected by his fellow scholars,
on condition th at the Superintendent agrees with their decision.
The Boyal Masonic Institution for Girls supported entirely by
Voluntary Contributions, was instituted on the 25th March, 1788,
at the suggestion of the late Chevalier Bartholomew Buspini,
Surgeon-Dentist to his late Majesty, George the Fourth, for the
purpose of educating, clothing, and maintaining a limited number
of girls, whether orphans or otherwise, the children of Brethren
whose reduced means prevented them from affording their female
offspring a suitable education. His late Majesty, the Prince of
Wales, with other members of the Boyal Family, the nobility,
clergy and gentry, and many of the most influential members of
the craft, gave the project their warmest support, and by their
united efforts established this Institution, which has preserved
numbers of children from the dangers and misfortunes to which females
are peculiarly exposed, trained them up in the knowledge and love
of virtue and habits of industry, and cultivated the practice of such
social, moral and religious duties as might best conduce to their
welfare and eternal happiness. A school-house was erected in 1793,
near the Obelisk, St. George's Fields, on leasehold ground belonging
to the Corporation of the City of London. At the expiration of the
lease in 1851, it was determined by the Committee to remove to a
more healthy locality. Accordingly about three acres of freehold
land were purchased on the high ground of Battersea Bise. Upon
this land the present building, which is an ornament to the neigh-
bourhood, was erected in 1852. It is constructed of red brick of
Gothic architecture from the designs of Mr. Phillip Hardwicke,
and is noticeable for its great central clock tower. Since the first
♦Mr. Beal sold on Wednesday, March 13th, 1878, at the Mart, 14J acres of
land for ,£14,500, being part of 20 acres bought in 1850 for the sum of £600.
1 he land is in Battersea Parish, bordering on Wandsworth Common, and was
pirt of the site of the Westminster Union (St. James') Industrial Schools* It
W4S bought by the British Land Company.
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erection of the building a wing has been added and tfye wings of
the buildings have been extended in front in order to afford
extra school-room, dining room and dormitory accommodation.
Dotatched f roin the main building an Infirmary has been erected
11 the grounds, including convalescent room, laundry, and every
appliance necessary thereto. The establishment consists of a Matron ;
a Governess ; three Assistant Governesses ; an Assistant to the
Matron, and six Junior Teachers ; a Gardener and his Wife ; and
eight female Servants. Since its establishment, one thousand and
ninety-one girls have been educated, clothed, and maintained
within its walls. There are now one hundred and sixty-two girls
in the Institution. The school is open for inspection every d^ay
from eleven to four (Sundays excepted) and can be reached by
any train stopping at Clapham Junction which is closely adjacent.
CLAPHAM JUNCTION is in the direction of St. John's Hill,
at the north-eastern extremity of Wandsworth Common. "The
station itself which was at first one of the most inconvenient, was
re-built a few. years ago, and now with its various sidings and
goods-sheds cover several acres of ground." It is one of the most
important railway junctions south of the Thames, offering facilities to
persons desirous of travelling not only to any part of the Metropolis
but to all parts of England. Easy access can be had to the eight
different platforms for "upline" and "downline," etc., on
entering the tunnel. Booking office for Kensington, Metropolitan
line, etc., on the ground floor at the north end of the tunnel
and facing No. 2 platform, Booking office South- Western line
No. 5 platform ; Booking office Brighton and South-Coast No. 8
platform ; also Telegraph office ditto ditto.
At the Junction there are thirteen waiting rooms, two refreshment
bars, two cab ranks, two oarriage roads to the Junction from St.
John's Hill. Nearly 1,000 trains pass through the Junction daily.
The staff of railway employes are respectful and obliging to
passengers; there is none of that bull-dog growl in reply to
questions which characterize some men with, surly dispositions who
fill public positions.
" Evil is wrought from want of thought
As well as want of heart."
London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway: Station Master,
Mr. John B. Carne ; South- Western Railway : Station Master, Mr.
Thomas Green. West London Extension Railway : Battersea
Station, High Street.
BATTERSEA PROVIDENT DISPENSARY, 175, High Street,
founded 1844, re-organized 1876 ; President, The Rev. Canon
Erskine Clarke, Vicar of Battersea ; Hon. Secretary and Treasurer,
Mr. B. W. Bayley ; Committee for 1881, Dr. J. Brown, Mr. J. H.
T. Connor, Mr. Heale, Mr. Merry, Mr. Pilditch, Rev. S. Gh Scott,
Rev. H. Gh Sprigg, Rev. J. Toone, Mr. Trehearne, Mr. Tyrer, Mr.
H. Urwicke ; Elected Representatives of Benefit Members, Mr.
King, Mr. Whensley ; Medical Officers, Mr. Oakman, The Priory,
Battersea Square ; Mr. Gh F. Burroughs, Queen's Road, and Ghray-
shott Road ; Dr. R. Frazer, Sisters Terrace, Lavender Hill ; Mr.
Biggs, 93, Northcote Road ; Mr. Sewell (Kempster & Sewell), 247,
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Battersea Park Eoad; Besident Dispenser, Mr. Whitehead;
Collector, Mr. Chatting.
The Funds of the Institution are derived from two sources. (1)
From the weekly payments of Subscribers who are termed members.
(2) From annual contributions of the more affluent, who on
subscribing to the Institution become honorary members. Medical
attendance and medicine are supplied to persons earning not more
than 30/- a week on payment of one penny per week for those oyer
1 4, and one half-penny per week for those under 14 ; but no greater
sum than fourpence shall be required from any family residing
together as such. To persons earning more than 30/- and not more
than 50/- per week, double the terms named above. Members
select their own medical attendant from the medical officers of the
Institution. The medical officers attend at the Dispensary at
appointed hours, but give advice at their own residences, and visit
the sick at their own houses when necessary. The Dispensary is
open for the supply of medicines daily, except Sunday, at 10, 3 and
7 ; but medicines are supplied at all hours in urgent cases.
WANDSWOETH COMMON PROVIDENT DISPENSARY,
Bolingbroke House. — President, The Rev. Canon J. Erskine Clarke;
Honorary Secretaries and Treasurers, Rev. J. H. Hodgson, Church
House, Bolingbroke Grove ; J. S. Wood, Esq,, jWoodvilie, Upper
Tooting ; Honorary Dentist, A. J. East, Esq., St. John's Hill, New
Wandsworth ; Resident Medical Officer, Dr. John H. Gray.
CHARITY ORGANIZATION SOCIETY, 1, Clifton Terrace-
Office hours, 9 till 10 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. Joint Secretaries : J.
H. Ward, Esq., and Frank Knight, Esq., Agent, Mr. J. T, Thorn-
ton. Sub-office : St. George's Mission Room, New Road.
THE PENNY BANK, 1, Clifton Terrace, Battersea Park Road,
is open on Mondays and Saturdays, from 7 to 8 p.m.
. Conspicuously situated at the corner of Simpson Street, Battersea
Park Road, is No. 54 Metropolitan Fire Brigade Station, erected
1873-4, is substantially built of red brick, with turret. In case of
fire two engines and one fire-escape are kept on the premises.
Staff : one officer and four men.
"We are indebted to Germany for the invention of the first fire
engine."
Respecting the origin of fire brigades : "In 1774 an Act was
passed requiring every Parish to provide itself with one large and
one small engine, &c., and everything necessary in case of fire. The
first London fire brigade was an Institution entirely independent of
the parishes, as indeed also of the Government and of the Corpora-
tion of London. It was created and exclusively supported by the
Insurance Companies of the Metropolis. At first every Insurance
Company had its own fire engine and men to work it, but in 1825
' some of them joined, and when the advantage of union was seen
most of the others desired to take part in the combination already
formed, the result of which was mat in 1833 a more extensive
organization was made, to which the name of the London Fire
Brigade was given. Such was the state of matters until by Act
28 and 29 Vict. cap. xc, July 5th, 1865, the duty of extinguishing
fires and protecting life and property in case of fire was declared to
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be entrusted to the Metropolitan Board of Works within their
jurisdiction, and provision was made for the establishment of the
Metropolitan Fire Brigade. The Act provides for its support from
three sources, viz: 1st, £10,000 Grant from Treasury; 2nd, id. in
the £ Bate; 3rd, £35 for every £1,000,000 insured in the Metropolis
from Insurance Companies, which in the year ending December 31,
1872, realized £16,267. All the Stations are in direct communica-
tion by telegraph with the Central Station, so that any required
number of engines or men may be summoned to any given spot
without delay. In 1872 the cost of maintenance was: Brigade,
£67,520 ; Stations, £8,793 ; Total, £76,313. All the Dock Com-
panies have engines, and some large private firms." — Popular
Cyclopedia, Blackie & Son.
By 1833 all the important Companies combined and the London
Eire Brigade was formed, organised and raised to an efficient
standard under the management of the late and much lamented
Mr. James Braidwood, who met with his death in the act of dis-
charging his duties at the great conflagration which broke out in
the afternoon of Saturday, June 22nd 1861, in one of the ware-
houses on the banks of the river, close to the Surrey side of London
Bridge, which in spite of increasing efforts to extinguish it, con-
tinued to burn until it destroyed property worth nearly £2,000,000.
The destruction of property thus caused by the fiery element is with-
out a parallel in the Metropolis since the great fire of 1666. "Three
acres of ground were gradually covered with a mass of fire, glowiDg
and crackling at a white heat like a lake of molten iron. The salt-
petre, the tallow, the tar aDd other combustibles stored in the
warehouses ran blazing into the Thames until the very river appeared
to be covered with the flames. Ships were burned as well as houses,
and the danger to life was almost as great on the river as in the
street. The glare of the conflagration was not only visible but
strikingly conspicuous 30 miles off."
THE METEOPOLITAN POLICE.— The organization of the
present effective Police force is due to Sir Robert reel's bill of 1829.
The force is divided into the City Police, confined to the City proper,
whose office is in the Old Jury, and the Metropolitan Police, which
consists of about 8,200 men, and whose Chief Station is in Scotland
Yard.
Metropolitan Police Station, Battersea, V. Sub-Division, Bridge
Boad. Superintendent, Mr. Digby ; Inspectors, Mr. McCrory, Mr.
Steggles. Number of men about 70. W. Division New Police
Station, Battersea Park Boad.
The full force of the Metropolitan Police in 1876 was 10,238*
Board of Works for the "Wandsworth District, Battersea Bise,
S.W. Arthur Alex. Corsellis, Clerk of the Board.
ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE of the National Society is situated
* The Report of the Commissioners of Police for the year 1879 shows that in
December the Metropolitan police numbered 10,711, which was an increase of
234 over the previous year. The number of fellonies committed during the year
was 21,891, for whicn 11,431 persons were arrested. The loss by theits was
^101,798, of which ^22,460 was recovered. The Director of Criminal Investiga-
tions reports that photography and engraving have been extensively used in the
tracing of criminals, with very satisfactory results.
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in Lombard Road for the trailing of. youngrmen who are intended
to become schoolmasters in schools connected with the dhuroh of
England. There are at this time about 80 students. The Bey.
Evan Daniel, M.A., Principal; Bev. Edwin Hammonds, Vice-
Principal ; Mr. George White, Secretary and Tutor ; Mr. Arthur
Macken, Tutor; M. Alphonso Estoclet, French Master; Mr. E. G.
May, Teacher of Music; Mr. W. Taylor, Normal Master; Mr. E.
Mills, Organist; Dr. Connor, Medical Attendant.
The College owes its origin to Dr J. P. Kay-Shuttleworlh
and Mr. E. C. Tufnell, Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner, who with
the view of establishing a Normal School in this country for impart-
ing to young men that due amount of knowledge and training them to
those habits of simplicity and earnestness which might render them
useful instructors to the poor, travelled to Holland, Prussia, Switzer-
land, Paris and other places that they might witness the operations of
such educational schemes as had been projected by Pestalozzi, De
FelLenberg and others interested in promoting the education of the
poor. The plan suggested by Dr. Kay-Shuttleworth and Mr. Tufnell
met with the hearty and most cordial approval of the Vicar, the Hon.
and Bev. B. Eden, who offered them the use of his villiage schools to
carry out their benevolent intentions. In 1840 they selected a com-
modious manor house near the river Thames, at Battersea. Boys
as students were first obtained from the School of Industry at
Norwood, who were to be kept in training for three years. Sub-
sequently some young men joined the Institution whose period of
training was necessarily limited to one year. In 1 843, the Directors,
Dr. Kay-Shuttleworth and Mr Tufnell, who had supported the Insti-
tution by their own private means, had it transferred into the hands of
the National Society. The Continental modes of instruction which
had been adopted, such as Mulhauser's method of writing, Wilhelm's
method of singing, Dupuis' method of drawing, etc., were so satis-
factory that a grant of £2,200 for the enlargement and improvement
of the premises was made to them by the Committee of Council on
Education which was transferred to the National Society and with-
out delay disbursed in completing the alterations required. In the
early part of 1846 a new class-room was erected. "The Institution
is supported by the National Sooiety's special fund for providing
schoolmasters for the manufacturing and mining districts. Only
young men are received as students, whose term of training is
generally two years."
THE VICABAGE HOUSE SCHOOL is also situated here.
Principal : Miss Crofts. Fees from half a guinea to a guinea per
quarter, according to age and attainments. The only extra subjects
are Music and French.
On the border of the river between Albert Bridge and Watney'a
Distillery are several wharfs and factories. Bibbon Factory of
Cornell, Lyell and Webster; the Glove Factory of Fownes & Co.;
Garton, Hill & Co.'s Sugar Befinery now in* course of erection;
Orlando Jones & Co.'s Bice Starch Manufactory; Denny's (Creek)
Flour Mills;* Price's Patent Can rile! Company's Factory; B
Freeman & Co.'s Varnish and Color Works; T. Whiffin's Chemical
*A pair of 4-ft. stones will grind four bushels per hour*
155
Manufactory ; Nash and Miller, Barge Builders; A. B. Cox, Barge
and Boat Builder; Watney's Malt Houses.
On the site where now stands Fownes & Co.'s Glove Factory,
formerly used as a silk factory, was Bonwell and Waymouth's
Distillery. This firm furnished a Corps of (Battersea) Volunteers,
of which the late Mr. George Chadwin was an ensign. Mr. Jonathan
Browne, who used to preach at the Old Baptist Meeting House,
York Road, was the grandfather of Mr. George Jonathan Chadwin,
of Lombard Boad, who was Vestry Clerk for 29 years in conjunction
with his father.
T. Gaines, a celebrated Horticulturist and Florist, resided in an
ancient mansion that stood in Surrey Lane, thought by some to
have been a private residence of Queen Elizabeth. The house has
been pulled down.
J. Tow kept a Private Mad House in High Street, It is now
occupied by Austin & Co., Dyers.
It is supposed by some that there was in olden time a Foundry
in Battersea for casting shot, etc., for the Tower of London.
THE PATENT PLUMBAGO CRUCIBLE COMPANY'S
WOBKS, which are the largest crucible works in the world, cover
a large space of ground and have a river frontage. The principal
elevation in Church Boad is a conspicuous feature in the neighbour*
hood. It is Italian in character freely treated and somewhat
Continental in design. The clock tower rises about 100 feet high,
in which is an illuminated clock that may be seen at a considerable
distance, A portion of the basement of this elegant structure is
appropriated to the private office of the manager and clerks' offices
were every quality of plumbago is represented by specimens from
all the most celebrated mines, particularly those of Ceylon,
Germany, Spain, Siberia, Canada, Finland and Borrowdale, The
other departments are the stores, grinding room, mixing room,
potters' room, drying room, the clay department, store room, etc.
Crucibles for melting and refining metals have been used ever since
man threw aside his hatchet and bone-chisel for bronze. For
scientific research the crucible has occupied an important place. It
was constantly used by the first alchemists and has truly been styled
the cradle of experimental chemistry. The word crucible from
the Latin crux-crucis recalls the alchemical practice of marking the
vessel with the protective sign of the cross. Crucibles of different
shapes and sizes are extensively employed by the refiner of gold
ana silver, the brass founder, melters of copper, zinc and malleable
iron, the manufacture of cast steel, the assayer and the practical
chemist. For ordinary metallurgical operations clay crucibles are
extensively employed. At the International Exhibition of 1862
the only prize medal for crucibles was awarded to the Company
and another prize medal for blackleads. The Company's crucibles
are now used exclusively by the English, Australian and Indian
Mints ; the Boyal Arsenals of Woolwich, Brest, and Toulon, etc.,
etc., and have been adopted by mosf of the large engineers, brass
founders and refiners in this country and abroad. Their great
superiority consists in their capability of melting on an average
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forty poTirinfrs o! the most difficult metals, and a still greater
number of those of an ordinary character, some of them having
actually reached the extraordinary number of 96 meltings. These
crucibles never crack, become heated much more rapidly than any
other description, and require only one annealing, may be used any
number of times without further trouble, change of temperature
(they may be plunged while cold into a furnace nearly white hot
without cracking) having no effect on them. The Patent Plumbago
Crucible Company are the greatest consumers of the Ceylon Graphite
brought to the United Kingdom. The total quantity 01 Graphite ex-
ported from Ceylon in 1862 was 40,195 cwt., of which 34,730 cwt.
was shipped to Great Britain.
This Company are at present carrying out very extensive im-
provements on the river side along the front of their premises in
the construction of a river wall built of Portland Cement Concrete,
* the foundations of which are carried down four feet below Trinity
Low Water Mark, which have been done without the aid of a
coffer-dam. These works when completed will reclaim a very
valuable frontage of the river. The total length of wall and camp-
shedding together with the adjoining property of Messrs. May
and Baker's Chemical "Works will be about 500 feet.
These improvements if extended westward towards the Parish
Church will be the means of doing away with the unsightly mud
banks which now exist, there is no doubt then a clean foreshore will
be accomplished similar to the south side lower down the river where
more extensive embankment works have been constructed. Behind
a portion of the wall which the Plumbago Company are construct-
ing will be some extensive cellars, which will be covered over with
a concrete floor carried on wrought iron girders and supported by
cast iron columns, and on the top of this floor will be a tram seven
feet wide for the use of a heavy steam crane, and when oompleted
will be able to unload goods out of barges alongside and deliver
the same into the second floor of the present warehouse.
• These works have been constructed from the designs and under
the superintendence of Mr. W. H. Thomas, C.E., of 15 Parliament
Street^ Westminster, Engineer to the Patent Plumbago Crucible
Company, and now being carried out by Messrs. B. Cook & Co.,
of Phoenix Wharf, Church Koad Battersea, Mr. Maples acting as
Oerk of the Works.
The same Arm are also constructing large river-side works at
Nine Elms for the London Gas-Light Company for a Ship's
Berth, from the design and under the superintendence of Robert
Morton, Esq., the Company's Engineer.
A very striking' feature is connected with the latter works, as it
is proposed to bring vessels up the river capable of carrying 1,000
tons of coals which will be discharged by the use of hydraulic
cranes and delivered by tram direct into the Gas Works.
Adjacent are the Silicated Carbon Filter Company's Works.
Whenever man has arrived at any considerable degree of civilization
the subject of water supply had a share in his solicitude, and it is
questionable if our modern works for supplying water surpass
those of ancient Judea, Greece, Rome, Mexico and other places.
The effect of impure water on the health and life of the community
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"was alas, too painfully evinced by the outbreak of cholera in 1854- *
1866, and by the reports of medical officers as to the cause of
typhoid fever.
The Silicated Carbon Filters are so constructed that the solid
matter deposited on the filtering medium can be easily cleansed
away. They entirely remove from water all organic matter and
every trace of lead, and for all domestic purposes they may be said
to render water absolutely pure. Testimonials from eminent
authorities describe the extraordinary power possessed by these
niters of entirely freeing water from every noxious quality.
Contiguous are the premises belonging to Mr. H. Bollman Condy,
the Inventor, Patentee, and Manufacturer of Antiseptic Aromatic
Vinegar, "Condys Fluid," and " Condy's Ozonised Sea Salt."
Adjoining are the Citizen Steamboat Company's Works and Dock,
whose steamboats leave Battersea to London Bridge and intervening
piers every ten minutes from 8 a.m. till dark. Entrance : Bridge
Koad. Manager: Mr. M. Williams.
Situated in Wellington Eoad is A. Eansome & Co's Battersea
Foundry.
S. Williams' Barge Works, Albert Eoad.
OBLANDO JONES & CO.'S STAECH WOEKS.—Oryza is the
name by which rice was known to the Greeks and Eomans and
which has been adopted by botanists ae the generic name of the
plant yielding that valuable grain. The name Paddy is applied to
the rice in the natural state, or before being separated from the
husk. The genus Oryza has two glumes to a single flower; paleae
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two, nearly equal, adhering to the seed; stamens six, and styles
two. The common rice Dry%a Sativa unlike many cultivated grains
is still found in a wild state in and about the borders of lakes in
the Bajahmundy Circars though the grain in its wild state is white,
palatable and considered wholesome the produce when compared
with the varieties of cultivation is very small. The rice plant is
described as a native of India from which country it has spread
over a great part of the world especially in Asia where it forms the
principal portion of the food of the inhabitants. A failure of the
rice crop is most disastrous as has been experienced too painfully
by the natives of India during the late famine in that region. "A
rice field produces a much greater quantity of food than the most
fertile corn fields. Two crops in the year, from thirty to sixty
bushels each, are said to be the ordinary produce of an acre." Bice
is now extensively cultivated in North and South Carolina, and in
Georgia, also in Italy and the South of Spain and likewise a little
in Germany. There are forty or fifty varieties of rice. Dr. Box-
burgh divides them into two kinds. One called in Telinga, Poonas
Sans ; the second division of cultivated rice is called Pedder Worloo
by the Telingas.
Bice Starch is principally used for laundry purposes it will be
found distinguished from all others by its singular purity an d
brightness of color. It will not stick to the iron in the slightest
degree. It may be used with hot or cold water, and articles starched
with it do not lose their stiffness in damp weather. A few of the
principal sources of the various known starches are sago, arrow-
root, yams, the manico-root and horse chesnuts in addition to those
resorted to by manufacturers, viz : wheat, potato, maize and rice,
the latter being a great novelty and illustrating more than any
other the progress of chemical science. Wheat starch is the oldest
known. It is alluded to by Pliny in the 'Natural Historv,' and
the discovery of the method of its extraction is attributed by him
to the inhabitants of the Island of Chios. The starches used three
centuries ago, when such enormous ruffles and frills were in fashion
were made from wheat; in fact down to modern times it was the
only known source of starch. Owing to a scarcity of wheat at the
commencement of the present century the use of wheat for the
manufacture of starch was prohibited by a legislative enactment.
The restrictions thus imposed were considered most oppressive, no
one could manufacture starch without a licence and a tenement rent
was exacted. The details of manufacture were subject to Govern-
ment regulations and a duty of 3£d. per pound was levied, amount-
ing to more than 75 per cent, of the present market value of the
article. These hindrances to the extension of the manufacture
were wisely removed by our Legislature in the year 1833. Starch
is one or the principal constituents of vegetable substance. It is
stored up in the seeds, roots and piths of plants and by its de-
composition furnishes the materials for keeping up respiration and
supplying the animal heat. It has an organised structure and
when examined by the microscope presents the form of rounded
grains or granules composed of concentric layers which differ in
size and shape in the starch of different plants the granules varying
in diameter from 1000th to 300th of an inch. However the com-
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position is the same, consisting of seventy-two parts of carbon and
eighty-one of water. "In its pure state starch is a fine white
powder without taste or smell. It is not soluble in water or
alcohol, or ether, but mixed with boiling water it swells, bursts,
and forms a kind of mucilage, which cools into a semi-transparent
paste or jelly." The process of manufacturing starch from rice
was discovered and patented about the year 1840 by Mr. Orlando
Jones, founder of the house of the same name. His invention
consists in the treatment of rice by a caustic alkaline solution
during the steeping, grinding and macerating of the grains. The
alkali used is either caustic potash or soda, of such a strength as to
dissolve the gluten without destroying the starch; it must con-
sequently vary with the character of the grain and hence the utmost
nicety is required. The Battersea Works ^of Orlando Jones & Co.
were built in 1848, the firm having previously carried on their
manufacture in Whitechapel, they are situated on the banks of the.
Thames near the works of Rice's Patent Candle Company, and
occupy ground extending from the river, to York Eoad; thus^the
firm possesses facilities of conveyance both by land and water— this
latter is particularly valuable to 1 them to enable them to save all
dock, landing and warehousing charges. AJaxge new store *has
been recently built on their wharf to which rice is^barged direct
from the ship. From the wharf also the manufactured article itself
is conveyed to the docks for shipment to the Continent and our
Colonies, with which a large trade is carried on. As an illustration
of the extent of Orlando Jones & Co.'s operations it may be added
tbat the box making department is a little factory in itself, and the
machinery employed for the various purposes of sawing, dusting,
cleaning, lighting, pumping, stirring, and grinding is driven by
steam engines. It will be obvious that the manufacture of rice
starch on a large scale requires no little capital and skill, and takes
high rank anion? those industrial enterprises which are so peculiarly
the characteristic and the glory of our age and country. Messrs.
Orlando Jones & Co's manufacture has been awarded nine prize
medals at International Exhibitions, and the grand distinction of
the gold medal of the Acaddmie Nationale of Paris. These medals
have been awarded 'for introduction of the process,' 'for ex-
cellence of manufacture' and 'for large production.'
It is worthy of note that Messrs. Orlando Jones & Co. are the
manufacturers of Chapman's Patent Prepared Entire Wheat Flour
especially distinguished by its richness in earthly phosphates which
are essential to the developement of bones and teeth. This
farinaceous food for infants, children and invalids is much re-
commended by the medical faculty.
Battersea is becoming quite noted for Laundries. There is
Strutt's (Lawn) Laundry, Orkney Street; Boyal Albert Laundry,
Battersea Park Eoad ; Laundry, Sheepcote House ; Latchmere
Laundry ; Alder's South Western Laundry, Surrey Lane ; Lom-
bard Eoad Laundry ; Palmer's Laundry, Chatham Eoad, Wands-
worth Common ; and many others.
But one of the largest and most gigantic of Laundries is the
Collossal Steam Laundry, belonging to Messrs. Spier & Pond,
erected 1879. The Laundry is situated on the Worth side of
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Bettersea Park Boad, it is constructed of yellow brick, with stone
window-sills, and Beart's white-moulded brick for string courses,
window jambs, arches, and cornices. The Building and Works
are rfrom rdeeigns by Mr. Kemp, Architectural Engineer. Mr.
Priddle of Hounslow was the Contractor; and Mr. Warburton,
Clerk of the Works, under whose superintendence the work was
carried out
The Building and Grounds extend over an area of one acre, the
principal frontage which is 170 ft. in length, faces the East in
a road leading to the South gate of Battersea Park, now called
Alexandra Avenue. The central portion has an elevation of 45 ft.
in height consisting of three floors containing, Manager's Residence,
Clerk's Offices, etc., also a mess-room for the Employes, with bath-
room and domestic lavatories. A spacious archway leads into the
court-yard. This entrance is 10 ft. in width and 15-ft. in height.
The wings of each side of the central portion have an elevation of
two floors. Other blocks each containing one lofty floor are built
on the North, South and West sides, to nearly one half the extent of
the site. The remaining open space which is set apart as a drying
ground is furnished with necessary appliances. Securely fixed in
the ground by means of struts are 96 poles, to which is firmly
attached a galvanic wire-rope for bleaching purposes. A separate
block at the South West corner is for stables, adjoining which is
the engine and boiler house with a chimney-shaft 70 ft. high, 7
it. wide at the base and 4 ft. at top. This part of the Building
is fitted up with a horizontal Engine and 2 Boilers by Manlove,
Alliott and Co. of Nottingham of sufficient power to drive the
Machinery requisite for the various processes of the Laundry ; the
Patent Machines used are made by Mr. Bradford of London and
Manchester. The boundary wall enclosing the building and grounds
is 7 ft. high. On the South side of the laundry is a sorting-room
63 ft. in length by 18 feet in width for the reception of articles as
they arrive in the vans. The washing-room is 50 ft. square with
large open Uuvre* in the ceiling for the purpose of ventilation and
to allow the steam to escape. The drying-room is 70 ft. by 30 ft.
A flue-pipe 70 ft. in length is placed horizontally immediately
along the floor in this department and about 1,200 ft. of corded
piping are utilized for the heating chamber. In the West block are
the folding and the mangling rooms, their dimensions being respec-
tively 40 ft. by 30 ft, and 52 ft. by 30 ft. In the North block is the
ironing room which is 56 ft. by 25 ft., next to which is the packing
room 40 ft by 25.
Estimated cost of building and machinery about £12,000*
Matron, Mrs. Tobin. Number of employes 60.
Properts (Blacking Factory) built 1 878-9. Hunting Mark a fox's
head. Hunting preparations, established 1836, South Audley St.
B. BeddW and Son, Sole Proprietors.
A site past Propert's factory has been selected by the London
and Provincial Steam Laundry Go. Limited. Ernest Turner,
Architect, 246, Eegent St. W. Mr. Austin, Secretary.
The London ana Provincial Steam Laundry (Company Limited)
is elaborately fitted up with Machinery of the very best descrip-
tiou—the building is said to be the largest in the world and it oocu-
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pies tin acre and a half of ground. Its worMng-ateJI is composed
mostly of females numbering 150 including 32 who reside upon the
premises, and there are 20 males. The Laundry is capable of
turning out from 80,000 to 90,000 pieces weekly. The Architect
was Mr. Ernest Turner of Kegent Street. Messrs. Bradford and Co.
of Manchester and London, supplied the machinery which was
specially designed for this Laundry. The works are entered at the
west by double gates which lead into a second court-yard where
the vans can discharge and receive their freight in all weathers.
The main body of the building is cut off from the resident portion
by a second pair of gates. The general Laundry is divided longitur
chnally into three sections. The wash-house is fitted up with
machinery adapted for speed and economizing labour.
The washing machines which are of various sizes are known as
Bradford's " Yowel A." Then there is a range of boiling troughs,
and again the hydros in which the articles when washed and rinsed
are put and whirled round at the rate of 400 revolutions per
minute " till every drop of extractable moisture is driven off through
the side holes." The Ironing-room is in the central hall and occupies
an area of 80 by 70 ft. being 20 ft. high. For curtains, lace, etc.,
there is a separate room. The boiler-house is provided with two
15-horse power horizontal engines, driven by two 20-horse cornish
boilers. There is a disinfecting chamber, and the severest penalties
are demanded, not only against any person sending infected articles,
but against any of the employes neglecting to give immediate
notice of any case of infectious disease, with which he or she shall
be brought into contact. Mr. J. T. Helby, Manager.
It is interesting to know how enormously property has increased
in value in Battersea, within the last one hundred years. The
Battersea Bridge Estate which contains about 4 acres, was sold by
auction at the Mart by Norton, Trist, Watney and Co., 62, Old
Broad Street, on Thursday, May 20, 1880, realizing £35,000. At
Mid-summer 1791, this property was let on three leases for 90
years, at ground rents amounting together to £90 per annum.
The Workman's Institute ereoted two years ago has full com-
pliment of 150 members. It has a kitchen, library, newspapers,
games, etc. One of the workmen has been thirty-eight years and
a few others thirty years in the service of the firm.
The man how wise, who, sick of gaudy scenes,
Is led by choice to take his fav'rite walk,
Beneath death's gloomy, silent, cypress shades,
Unpierc'd by vanity's fantastic ray !
To read his monuments, to weigh his dust ;
Visit his vaults, and dwell among his tombs. !
Young's Night Thoughts.
Situated on Battersea Eise at the commencement of Bolingbroke
Grove, "Wandsworth Common, is St. Mary's Cemetery us4d as a
place of interment for the parishioners. It covers an area of 8
acres, and cost £8,000, including the erection of mortuary, chapels,
etc. The ground thus purchased formed part of an estate that
belonged to Mr. Henry Willis. It was opened Nov. 1860. It is
fringed on the north and west sides with stately elms, and partially
on the east boundary with poplar trees. . ,
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Grassy hillocks, planted with flowers and evergreens, monumental
inscriptions and tombstones, together with the number of each grave
denote the spot where many a tributary tear of fond affection has
been shed by the surviving relatives and friends of loved ones who
have departed this life, but whose mouldering dust lies sleeping
here. The congregation of the silent dead seems to make the place
sacred, and gives it a solemn air. Here lie the mortal remains of the
late Venerable John S. Jenkinson, M.A., for 24 years Vicar of Batter-
sea, he died 17th October, 1871, aged 74, ; much beloved and greatly
lamented. An appropriate text of Holy Scripture, 1 These. 4, 14,
is engraved round the beautiful block of granite that covers his
grave. On the occasion of his decease the following lines were
composed by a parishioner, dated October 17th, 1871 : —
Our Vicar has been called away,
From earthly ties has risen,
To take the place prepared for him ;
Our Vicar rests in Heaven.
His journey ended, trials o'er;
Now all his sufferings cease,
He's gone to be with Him who said,
" In Me ye shall have peace."
He ever faithful to his charge,
The Saviour's love set forth
To sinners that they might be saved;
Was faithful unto death.
Full twenty years and more he trod,
God's house His flock to lead ;
In sickness words of comfort gave,
In want assist their need.
May we his flock example take,
Before our sun go down ;
That when our Saviour comes, we too
May win a heavenly crown.
A mourning or memento card headed "Falling Leaves" bears
the following lines written on the Funeral of the Rev. J. S. Jen-
kinson: —
'Twas Autumn — and a mournful train
Proceeds beneath the trees,
Our Vicar in the tomb was laid,
Amid the falling leaves.
Fit emblem of the hoary head,
And many such were there;
Methought they spoke in silent words
For this event prepare.
The mighty shepherd of his sheep,
In seasons such as these,
Speaks gently, that each one may take
A lesson from the leaves.
October 2\vt, 1871. A Pabishionsb.
Here is a superb monument of red polished granite in memory
of John Humphrey Esq., Alderman of London and late M.P. for
the borough of Southwark who died 28th September, 1863. Aetat
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Herd is a tombstone "with epitaph in memory of Mary Davies,
who departed this life January 24th, 1872, aged 88 years. "For
more than sixty-two years she was connected with Battersea Chapel
Sunday School, where by her consistent christian character and
entire devotedness to her work, she won the esteem of all. Being
dead she yet lives in the hearts of many teachers, scholars and
friends, who erect this stone in remembrance of a course of quiet
usefulness which they deem worthy of all honour.
Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoken,
Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown
Shall pass on to ages — all about me forgotten
Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have done."
Here is a marble obelisk. — In memory of the Eev. James Milling,
A.B., Curate of St. Mary's Battersea, who entered into rest the 11th
of January 1865 aged 27 years. His last words were "Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour." Titus Hi 5 and 6. This monument was er-
ected by the parishioners and children of the Parochial Schools.
On another tombstone is an inscription to the memory of Mr.
John Nichols, a devoted husband and estimable father, Baptist
minister and Editor of Zion's Trumpet, a magazine devoted to the
interest of the Aged Pilgrims' Friend Society and its Asylum; who
fell asleep in Jesus Feb. 1st, 1867, aged 67 years.
"His presence guide my journey through and crown my journey's
end."
In the faith of Christ here also rests the Eev. Philip Pennington
M.A. of Christ's College, Cambridge, sometime civil chaplain of the
Island of Mauritius. And God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes, and there shall be no more death neither sorrow, nor crying
neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are
passed away.
Many are the pledges of conjugal endearment which help to
tenant these graves.
"Ah! those little ice-cold fingers,
How they point our memories back
To the hasty words and actions,
Strewn along our backward track !
How those little hands remind us,
As in snowy grace they He,
Not to scatter thorns — but roses,
For our reaping by and by.
We perceive here that ruthless death with his scythe pays no
regard to infantile age, and that others in the vigour of their
youthful prime as well as the matured adult and hoary-headed have
been suddenly cut down by an awful surprise.
Here is a grave planted with flowers, the stone at the head of
the grave states that William Gobell was accidently killed on the
London and Brighton Eaiiway, March 4th, 1873, aged 65 years.
Here is another stone in affectionate remembrance of William
James, late Engine driver on the L.B.andS.C.E., who was killed
while in the execution of his duty on the 29th of July 1876, aged
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88 years. This stone has been erected by his fellow mates, as a
token of respect to his memory.
Another stone is erected in memory of Henry Blunden, who was
killed on the L. and S. W. Ey., on the 17th October, 1871, aged
22 years.
"All you that come my grave to see,
Oh think of death and remember me,
Just in my prime and folly skilled;
When on the Railway I was killed,
Take warning, hear, and do not weep,
But early learn thy grave to seek."
Sacred to the memory of Thomas Hutchinson Higerty, who
departed this life October 13th, 1869, aged 5 years and 2 months.
How very soon is age upon us,
Ere we know our way to earth,
But in heaven there's no sorrow,
There's nothing but joy and mirth.
How soon hath time closed around us,
First a child and then a man,
How soon he's turned to mouldering dust
Which from a few years back he sprang.
The head-stone states that the above lines were written by his
brother, aged twelve years.
I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls
The burial ground God s acre! It is iust:
It consecrates each grave within its wails,
And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust.
God's acre! yes, that blessed name imparts
Comfort to those who in the grave have sown
The seed that they had gathered in their hearts,
Their bread of life — alas! no more their own.
Into its furrows shall we all be cast,
In the sure faith that we shall rise again
At the great harvest, when the archangel's blast
Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain.
Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom,
In the fair gardens of that sacred birth;
And each bright blossom mingle its perfume
With that of flowers which never bloomed on earth.
Longfellow.
The word Sepulchre comes from the Latin Sepelio to bury. It is the place
where the dead body of a human being is consigned, whether it be in the ground
or an excavation in tne rocks.
Abraham buried Sarah, his wife in the cave of the field of Ephron, at Mach-
pelah, which he purchased in the presence of the children of Heth, for 400 Shekels
of silver, i860. B.C. Genesis 23.
The word Cemetery Koimeterion comes from the Greek Koitnao (Koimaein) to
sleep. It is the sleeping place, and " Christianity has turned the Sepulchre into
a Cemetery assuring us, as it does, that those who die in Jesus, Sleep in Htm,
awaiting a future awakening, in augmented vigour, and with renovated powers.
To the Christian, the grave should be associated with the idea of calm and un-
disturbed repose, after a life of honourable toil, with the hope of a glorious and
blessed resurrection. ,, The Greeks had their burial places at a distance from the
towns. Lycurgus allowed his Lacedemonians to bury their dead within the city
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Ano&er stone bears the following inscription:—
In loving remembrance of William Haywaxd, born April 4th,
1850, died December 8th, 1874.
"Time, how short — Eternity, how long."
Seader, this silent grave contains
A much-loved son's remains;
Death like a frost has nipt his bloom,
And sent him early to the tomb ;
In love he lived, in peace he died,
His life was craved, but God denied.
This stone is erected by his mother as a small token of love for him.
Also of Thomas Hay ward, brother to the above; born October
26th, 1855, died June 8, 1876.
Had He asked us, well we know
We should cry, Oh! spare this blow;
Tea, with streaming tears should pray,
Lord we love him, let him stay.
A grave stone records the death of Henry Stening, who met with
and around their templed that the youth being inured to such spectacles might be
the less terrified With the apprehension of death. Two reasons are alleged why
the ancients did not allow burials within their cities. 1st. they considered that
the sight, touch or neighbourhood of a corpse defiled a man, especially a priest.
4nd. to prevent the air from being corrupted by putrifying bodies, and the build-
ings from being endangered by the frequency of (Cremation) funeral fires. The
custom of burning bodies prevailed amongst most Eastern nations, and was
continued by their descendants, after they had peopled the different parts of
Europe. Hence we find it prevailing in Greece, Italy, Gaul, Britain, Germany,
Sweden, Norway and Denmark, till Christianity abolished it.
The Romans had their places of interment in the suburbs and fields especially
the highways; hence the necessity of inscriptions. We have a few exceptional
instances of persons buried in the city a favour allowed to only a few of singular
merit in the Commonwealth. Burying within the walls was expressly prohibited
by a law of the xii Tables. Plutarch says those who had triumphed were indulg-
ed in it. Val Publicola and C. Fabricius, are said to have nad tombs in the
Forum, and Cicero adds Tuberius to the number. Places of burial were conse-
crated under Pope Calixtus I. in A.D. 210. (Eusebius.) Among the primitive
christians, cemeteries were held in great veneration. It appears from Eusebius
and Tertullian that in the early ages they assembled for divine worship in the
cemeteries. Burying in churches for many ages was severely prohibited by
Christian Emperors. The first step towards it was the erection of churches over
the graves of martyrs in the cemeteries, and translating the relics of others into
churches in the city. Subsequently Kings and Emperors were buried in the
Atrium or church porch. The first christian burial place it is said, was instituted
in 596; buried in cities, 742; in consecrated places, 750; in church yards, 758.
It is said however in the 6th century the people began to be admitted into the
churchyards; and some Princes, Founders and Bishops into the churches. The
practice adopted at the consecration of cemeteries, was something after this fash-
ion — the Bishop walked round it in procession with the crosier or pastoral staff
in his hand, the holy water pot being carried before, out of which the aspersions
were made. Many of the early christians are buried in the catacombs at Rome.
Vaults erected in churches first at Canterbury, 1075. Woollen shrouds only per-
mitted to be used in England 1666. Linen scarfs introduced at funerals in Ireland
1729, and Woollen shrouds used 1733. Burials taxed 1695. A tax conducted on
burials in England — for the burial of a Duke ^50, and that of a common person
4s., under William III 1695, and George III 1783. Acts relating to Metropolitan
burials, passed 1850-67. In 1850 the Board of Health was made a Burial Board
for the Metropolis, and power was given to the Pi ivy Council to close the City
grave-yards. Parochial Registers instituted in England by Cromwell, Lord
Essex, about 1538.— Stow.
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sudden death on the 25th November, 1875, aged 59 years. "In
the midst of life we are in death."
Here is a white marble head stone with guilded monogram (I.H.S.)
and stone border to grave prettily decorated with flowers, sacred to
the memory of Alfred Thomas Martin, who died September 29th,
1876, aged 31.
Also of Nelly, died July 19, 1875, aged 7; Alfred William, died
March 17, 1876, aged 6; Charles Percy, died February 23, 1877,
aged 18 months, children of the above. "The Lord giveth and the
Lord taketh away."
Within the precincts of this cemetery is entombed the body of
Henrietta, Lady Pollock, widow of Field Marshal Sir George
Pollock, Baronet, G.O.B., G.C.S.L, died February 14, 1873, aged
65 years. "Jesus said, I am the Resurrection and the Life." John
xi. 25-26
Here is a vault in memory of William Henry Wilson, of Chapel
House, Battersea Park, and 6, Victoria Street, Westminster, born
4th of September, 1803, died 8th March, 1871; also of Margaret,
Isabel (Daisy,) third child of John Wilson ; and Margaret Isabel
Theobald, died 3rd March, 1876, aged 3 years and 1 month.
Not far from the gravel walk is a grave-stone at the head of
which is a dove with a scroll on which is engraved "Thy will be
done." Sacred to the memory of Mary Jane Webb, the beloved
and only child of Charles and Mary Webb, who departed this life
Nov. 30th, 1869, aged 8 years and 8 months, deeply lamented by
her sorrowing parents and regretted by all who knew her.
She is not dead, the child of our affection,
But gone into the School,
Where she no longer needs our poor protection,
And Christ Himself doth rule.
Earth to earth system of burial advocated by Mr. Seymour Haden. Wicker
Coffins exhibited at Stafford House, 17th June 1875. With the view of rendering
the death of persons of quality more remarkable, it was customary among the
Greeks and Romans to institute funeral games, which included horse-racing,
dramatic representations, processions and mortal combats of gladiators; these
games were abolished by th? Emperor Claudius, A.D. 47.
The custom of delivering a funeral oration in praise of a person at his funeral
is very ancient, it was practised by the Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans.
The old heathens honoured those alone with this part of the funeral solemnity
who were men of probity and justice, renowned for their wisdom and knowledge,
or famous for warlike exploits. This custom was very early obtained by the
christians. Some of their funeral sermons are now extant as that of Eusebius on Con-
stantine, and those of Nazianzen on Basil and Csesarius; and of Ambrose on
Valentinian, Theodosius, and others.
One of the oldest established and most celebrated of the European cemeteries
is that of Pere la Chaise near Paris. In the Scottish cemeteries /no such distinc-
tions exist as in England where the cemeteries are divided into two portions —one
consecrated for the burials of members of the Established Church over whose
remains the funeral service is read and one unconsecrated for the burials of
dissenters.
The Burials Law Amendment Act 1880, has given to Parishioners in England
the right of burials in Church-yards without the rites of the Church of England.
Though the Incumbent of a parish has no longer the exclusive right of officiating
at interments in consecrated ground yet none of his rights are actually abrogated.
He is still custos of the grave yard and must be consulted about the hour and place
of interment as well as the inscriptions on grave stones. While in the case of lay
funerals contemplated under the Act, it is not necessary to have any service at all,
the service if performed must be christian and orderly.
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Here is a grave-stone ; an opening in the stone which, is glazed,
represents a female in a recumbent position reading a book. In
affectionate remembrance of George Barrett, who departed this life
January 9th, 1871, aged 2 years and 3 months ; also Louisa Barrett,
who departed this nfe September 24th, 1872, aged 16 years and
6 months.
Dear to their parents! to their God more dear,
Brother and Sister sweetly slumber here ;
Blest in their state from fear and danger free ;
To us they died ; they live Lord with Thee.
Also Daniel Barrett, father of the above, who departed this life
August 23rd, 1873, aged 46 years.
Even as he died a smile was on his face,
And in that smile affection loved to trace,
A cheerful trust in Jesus' power to save,
An aged Pilgrim's triumph o'er the grave.
Here is a grave planted with Laurels, having a Ehododendron
in the centre, the stone at the head bears the inscription — In
affectionate remembrance of Philadelphia Emma, the beloved wife
of Ephraim Wilson, of Bridge Eoad, Battersea, who departed this
life, June 24th, 1875, aged 27 years.
The losing thee, our comfort is, to know
That those relying on a Saviour's love,
Have left this troubled world of sin and woe
To be at rest with Christ in heaven above.
Here is a grave covered with a white marble, slab and cross,
bearing this simple inscription ; Phiilis, wife of Wyndham Payne,
taken to her rest, 26 July, 1870.
Here is a grave-stone ; in affectionate remembrance of Clara
Cahill, who died 20th of December, 1871, aged 2 years and 3 months.
Dear lovely child, to all our hearts most dear,
Long shall we bathe thy memory with a tear ;
Farewell, to promising on earth to dwell ;
Sweetest of children, farewell ! farewell !
Also Albert, Brother of the above, who died August 7th, 1874,
aged 14 months, interred in St. Patrick's cemetery, West Ham.
Oh ! why so soon ! just as the bloom appears,
Strayed the brief flower from this vale of tears ;
Death viewed the treasure to the desert given,
Claimed the fair flower, and planted it in heaven.
Also Caroline, sister of the above, who died March 1st, 1876,
aged 1 year and 7 months.
Yes, dearest Carrie, thou art gone,
Thy brief career is run,
Thy little pilgrimage is past
All sorrowing here is done,
Just like an early summer's rose,
Thou did'st come here to bloom,
But long ere thou beganst to blow,
Death snatched thee to the tomb.
A head-stone marks the grave of Mary Childs, who died Nov.
24th, 1865, aged 68 ; for 33 years a faithful servant in the
family of George Serivens, of Clapham Common.
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A beautiful granite greciaa cross is erected in memory of die
dear loved wife of Arthur Steains, Jun., born 8th January, 1844,
taken to her eternal rest 22nd June, 1875. " Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God."
Here is a stone — sacred to the memory of Wm. Ghas. Brewer,
who died June 11th, 1875, aged 21 years. Remember the days of
thy youth. This stone was erected by some of his fellow employes,
as a token of affection. Our time will not allow us to comment
upon the different inscriptions, but it is gratifying to observe how
many grave-stones have been erected as a tribute of generous
affection by working? men themselves, in memory of their deceased
fellow workmen. A noble feature this in the British Mechanic, a
quality possessed and not unfrequentiy displayed by English hearts
and hands.
At the head of a grave is a marble stone, erected to the memory
of Anne Grover, late of Wendover, Bucks, who died April 80th,
1877, aged 54 years. " The Lord is a stronghold in the day of
trouble, and He knoweth them that trusteth in Him." Nah. i. 7.
A small stone is erected in loving memory of Catherine Weedon,
who departed this life, December 24th, 1876, aged 38 ; underneath
are the following well known lines.
We cannot tell who next may fall,
Beneath Thy chastening rod ;
One must be first — but let us all
Prepare to meet our God.
At the head of a grave is a stone erected by the friends and
companions, in memory of Alfred Fell, and Arthur Bonald, who
were accidentally drowned while bathing in the Biver Thames,
July 6th, 1873, both aged 19 years. The subjoined lines read —
Mark the brief story of a summer's day,
At noon, in youth and health they launched away,
Ere eve, death wrecked the bark and quenched their light ;
The parent's home was desolate at night,
Each passed alone that gulf as eye can see,
They meet next moment in eternity.
Friend, kinsman, stranger, dost thou ask me where ?
Seek God's Bight Hand and hope to find them there.
A few yards from the spot is a stone in memory of Alfred Halsted
who died May 1st, 1873, aged 2 years and 5 months.
Also of Emma Halstead who died January 3, 1875, aged 12 years.
Also of Emma Halstead sister of the above who died June 28th 1879
aged 13 months.
" Speak gently to the little child,
It's love be sure to gain ;
Teach it in accents soft and mild,
It may not long remain."
Here is a private grave with a stone in affectionate remembrance
of Agnes, Eliza Waller, who fell asleep in Jesus, April the 6th,
1871, in her 15th year; also Elizabeth Waller, mother of the above
who died in the Lord, February 27th, 1873, in the 37th, year of
her age. Looking unto Jesus the Beginner and Finisher of our
faith.— Hebrew* xiu 2„
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Here also lie buried the mortal remains of James Waller, who
died July 7th, 1880, he was an earnest and successful city-missionary.
Here is a monumental stone, in form of an Iona cross, encircled
with a ring emblematical of the Unity and Catholicity of the
Christian Church. The epitaph states, that Laura, Susan Cazenove,
" fell asleep," August 24th, 1761, in her 22nd year. " There shall
be one fold and one Shepherd."
Here is a sepulchre stone, in memory of Frances, Elizabeth
Scrivens, widow of George Scrivens, Esq., of Clapham Common,
who died March 11th, 1867, aged 81 years.
In this cemetery are interred the mortal remains of Arthur Miller
Bose, who died 12th July, 1864, aged 67 ; also Susannah, his wife,
who died 30th December, 1870, aged 75. " The memory of the
just is blessed." — Proverbs x. 7.
Near this spot we observed an iron label, with the number of
somebody's grave ; there was no hillock, the surface was completely
flattened ; over the label was placed by fond hands a faded wreath.
Covering a brick vault is erected a superb monument, bearing
the following inscriptions — in affectionate remembrance of Marianne,
the beloved wife of Robert Jones, of Clapham Common, born May
9th, 1808, died November 17th, 1868 ; also in memory of Anne,
second daughter of Robert and Marianne Jones, born July 12, 1841,
died October 22, 1872. "He hath prepared for them a city." —
Hebrews *i. 16.
" Paradise! Paradise!
Who doth not crave for rest ?
Who would not seek the happy land
Where they that love are blest ?
Where loyal hearts and true,
Stand ever in the light;
All rapture through and through,
In God's most Holy sight."
Also Falkland Robert, the third son of Robert and Marianne-
Jones, who died 29th November, 1875, aged 23 years.
Adjacent to that of his parents, is erected a monument of scotch
granite, mounted with a white marble urn, partially covered with a
cloth or veil. Sacred to the memory of Joseph May Soule, second
son of the late Rev. I. M. Soule, who departed this life, 15th March,
1875, aged 33. "I am the Resurrection and the life." — John xi. 25.
On the south side of the beautiful obelisk erected over his Parents'
grave is an epitaph to the memory of Hannah Turnbull, for 13
years a devoted nurse in the family of the Rev. I. M. Soule, who
died June 9th, 1866, aged 44 years. Fallen asleep in Jesus.
By the side of one of the gravel walks a modest head-stone is
erected in memory of Elizabeth Ursula, wife of James Pillans
Wilson, Esq., born October, 1836, fell asleep in Jesus, 11th May,
1869, in her 33rd year. She was a regular attendant at the public
worship of God, from her childhood, and sought sincerely to please
Him, but did not become a worshipper of Him, ' in spirit and in
truth,' by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and being saved until
her twentieth year, from which time she knew Him indeed as her
Father, and walked with Him in this world as His child. Subjoined
is the following address to the reader— *
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Dear reader, how is it with you ? Are you still only an outward
worshipper, or perhaps not even that? 0! believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, as having died on the cross for your sins, and ask
Him to make Himself known to you in your heart as your own
Saviour, and then you also will walk this earth as a happy child of
God, loving and serving Him by the power of His Spirit in you,
till He shall take you home to Himself to the fulness of joy in His
presence, and the pleasures at His right hand for evermore.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the
judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and
unto them that look for Him, shall He appear the second time
without sin, unto Salvation. — Hebrews ix. 27-28. Isaiah liii. 6.
AcUxvi. 30-31.
Here is a grave with stone border and marble head-stone— in
memory of the Rev. Edwin Thompson, D.D., Vicar of St. John's
Parish, and honorary Chaplain of the Royal Masonic Institution for
Girls', Battersea Eise, who died February 2nd, 1876, aged 51 years.
" Knowing that he, which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up
us also, by Jesus, and shall present us with you. — II. Cor. iv. 14.
Also of Hannah Thompson, mother of the above, who died July
1st, 1876, aged 80 years. " This is the victory that overcometh the
world— even our faith." — I. John v. 4.
We must tread softly among these grassy mounds, for yonder
at the end of the gravel walk is situated our Darling Teddie's grave,
(No. 7217). Edward George Curme Simmonds, who was drowned
off Battersea Park embankment, October 16, 1875, aged 10 years.
In another part of the cemetery is interred all that is mortal of
our beloved daughter Hannah, who died June 12, 1873, aged 18.
"My faith looks up to Thee, Thou lamb of calvary, Saviour divine ! "
But we have tarried almost too long, and as time is precious we
must leave for the present our meditations among the tombs, only
observing that as we examined the records of mortality, and thought
of the promiscuous multitude rested together without any regard to
rank or seniority within those thousands of graves, we were
reminded of the words of the Eev. James Hervey, when gazing
upon a similar scene in a church yard. " None were ambitious of
the uppermost rooms, or chief seats in this house of mourning; none
entertained fond and eager expectations of being honourably
greeted, in their darksome cells. The man of years and experience
reputed as an oracle in his generation, was contented to lie down
at the feet of a babe. In this house appointed for all living, the
servant was equally accommodated and lodged in the same story
with his master. The poor indigent lay as softly, and slept as
soundly as the most opulent possessor. All the distinction that
subsisted was a grassy hillock, bound with osiers, or a sepulchral
stone, ornamented with imagery." In Thy fair book of life divine;
My God inscribe my name.
My flesh shall slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in my Saviour's image rise.
How many graves around us He!
How many homes are in the sky!
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Yes for each saint doth Christ prepare, a place with care,
Thy home is waiting, brother there!
On the south side of the centre gravel walk east of the mortuary
Chapels is a neat marble head-stone. Sacred to the memory of
Elizabeth Farmer, born January 13th, 1810, died February 1st,
1873. Also of William Farmer, born May 14th, 1802, died May
26th, 1877, he was for 36 years a faithful servant in the employ
of Messrs. Thorne, Brewers, Nine Elms. The memory of the Just
is blessed. They rest from their labours." — Rev. xiv. 14. This
stone as a tribute of filial affection is erected in loving remembrance
by their sons.
On the west-side of the cemetery is erected a small red granite
cross in loving remembrance of John Hext Ward, Churchwarden
of Battersea, 1874. Died 9th December, 1877, aged 40. A few of
his friends thus record their admiration for his sterling worth, for
his manly godliness, and for his self-denying efforts to help the poor
to help themselves. "Thy Kingdom come."
Here is a grave adorned with pretty flowers and rose trees a
glass shade covers a wreath, in the centre of which is an image
representing the Redeemer. At the head of the grave a memento
card is framed and glazed, In loving remembrance of Kate Ellen
Wilson, who departed this life July 2nd, 1878, in her 21st year.
The stem broke and the flower faded.
When my final farewell to the world I have said,
And gladly lie down to my rest;
When softly the watchers "shall say she is dead,"
And fold my pale hands on my breast;
And when with my glorified vision at last,
The walls of that city I see;
Angels will then at the beautiful gate,
Be waiting and watching for me.
Conspicuously by the side of the carriage road may be seen a
stone obelisk tapering like a spire, with hand and forefinger point-
ing to the sky. On front of the obelisk is a dove with marble
scroll with the words "for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
In memory of Jessie Felicia, the beloved wife of Frederick Seed,
of Wandsworth, late of Battersea; who died 22nd October, 1874,
aged 31 years. Also Emily Kate, the beloved daughter of the
late C. Q. Baker, of Margate, Kent; who died 6th January
1877, Aged 2£ years.
A grave stone with dove and scroll with the words "Jesus wept"
is erected in affectionate remembrance of Rozinia Sarah eldest
daughter of Henry and Bozinia Osborn, and grand-daughter of
Mrs. M. E. McBain; who departed this life October 14th 1868, aged
8 years and 7 months. "The sting of death is sharp — But the love
of Christ surpasseth all."
Another stone sacred to the memory of Mrs Mary E. McBain who
died July 8, 1866, aged 68 years.
Also of James Fairbain McBain, husband of the above who fell
asleep in Jesus, May 18th, 1879. For many years he had been a
temperance advocate and successful evangelist.
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Here is a stone in affectionate remembrance of Little Marke, the
dearly beloved child of Philipp and Eose Konig, who fell asleep
February the 3rd, 1876, aged 22 months.
Our loss is his great gain,
We trust in Christ to meet again.
Another stone in memory of Elizabeth thebelovedwife of John Tyler
Larking, who after a painful mental and bodily disease fell asleep
in the dear Lord Jesus, August 27th, 1878, in her 76 year. "Fori
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
On the right hand side of the principal road from the main entrance to
the cemetery is a grave-stone erected in loving undying remembrance
of Kate Ellen Wilson, whom it pleased God to take from this world
of care on the 2nd of July, 1878, aged 21 years.
"Gone for ever in the blossom of life and love,
After scarcely a moment's warning.
Eloquence is lost in attempting to describe her noble qualities
Loving, faithful, generous and pure,
Thou wert the bright star that guidest me on,
Toiling for thee and rank among strangers.
Thy smile my reward when the battle was won,
In sickness or sorrow, in sadness or sleeping
Thy smile ever near to guide me along,
Whispering hopes of a bright tomorrow
My sad spirits cheering with dreams of relief,
But e'er one summer passed away
That gentle voice was hushed for aye
I watched my Love's last smile and knew,
How well the angels loved her too,
Then silent. —
Then silent but with blinding tears
I gathered all my love of years,
And laid it with my dream of old,
When all and loved slept white and cold."
On the border stone are the words* 'the property of Walter Scott"No of
grave 8747.
We observe another stone in memory of Mahalah the beloved and
affectionate wife of Henry Noble Williams, who died November
12th, 1873, aged 38 years. In her prostrated affliction she "endured
as seeing Him who is invisible" and longed to behold "the King in
His beauty."
How calm and easy was her parting breath,
No conscious sorrow shook her bed of death
No infants fall when wearied sleep oppressed
So did her soul sink to eternal rest
' ' Until the morning breaketh. ' '
"She looked well to the ways of her household, and ate not the
bread of idleness." Prov. xxxi 27.
Also the above named, Henry Noble Williams, who died October
28th, 1879, aged 44 years.
"This mortal shall put on immortality." I. Cor. xv. 53.
Here is a grave the head-stone is erected in affectionate remembrance
of John Allison Peel, who died March 23, 1871, aged 40 years.
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Then let our sorrows cease to flow,
God has recalled His own;
But let our hearts in every woe,
Still say Thy will be done.
Also of John William Peel son of the above, who was accidentally
killed by the falling of a boat swing June 18, 1872. Aged 11 years. .
Here is another stone erected by loving hands. In memory of Sarah
Appleton who died June 5, 1860, aged one month. Also of Minnie
Appleton who died March 10, 1864, aged 13 months. And of Hose
Appleton who died Dec. 17, 1865, aged 4 J years, children of George
Appleton of Battersea Park. Also of Mary Appleton, who died
March 16, 1866, aged 79 years; grandmother of the above children.
Added to this epitaph are the lines with which most persons are
familiar : —
Forgive blest shade the tributary tear
That mourns thy exit from a world like this
Porgive the wish that would have kept thee here
And stayed thy progress to the realms of bliss.
A plain head-stone marks the resting place of all that was mortal
of that good man William Henry Hatcher, born at Salisbury 2ist
January, 1821, Died at Sherwood House, Battersea, 2nd August,
1879. This stone was erected by his colleagues and Fellow Workers.
THE UNOEETAINTY OF LIFE.
Beneath our feet and o'er our head
Is equal warning given ;
Beneath us lie the countless dead,
Above us is the heaven.
Death rides on every passing breeze,
He lurks in every flower;
Each season has its own disease,
Its peril every hour.
Our eyes have seen the rosy light
Of youth's soft cheek decay,
And fate descend in sudden night
On manhood's middle day.
Our eyes have seen the steps of age
Halt feebly towards the tomb ;
And yet shall earth our hearts engage,
And dream of days to come?
Turn, mortal, Turn! thy danger know,—
Where'er thy feet can tread
The earth rings hollow from below,
And warns thee of her dead.
Turn, Christian, turn ! thy soul apply
To truths divinely given ;
The bones that underneath thee lie
Shall live for hell or heaven.'
The Burial Ground of St. Mary, Battersea, was purchased i86:>, and secured
for the use of the Parishioners, by Act of Parliament, xv. and xvi. Victoria
Cap. 85.
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OTHER PEES.
Keeping Monuments and Graves in perpetuity, according to
Agreement.
Planting with Flowers and keeping in order a private Grave,
per annum, 10*. 6rf.
Turfing do. do. do. 3*.
For Removing and replacing Head and Foot-Stone, 10*.
For Removing Ledger Stone, 14*.
Digging Grave Extra Depth, per foot — 1-ft. 2«. 2-ft. 3*. 3-ft.
4*. 6d. 4-ft. 6*. 5-ft. Is. 6d. 6-ft. 10*. 7-ft. 14*. 8-ft. 17*. 9-ft. £1.
Fee for Additional Inscription, 5*.
Fee for Change of Stone or Monument, 15*.
NON-PARISHIONER8 DOUBLE FEES.
By Order,
Thomas Habbaf, Clerk.
Approved by the
Secretary of State,
For the Home Department,
December 21**, 1876.
THE BATTERSEA CHARITIES. Most of which are by will of
the founders administered by the Vicar and Churchwardens.
1. Ann Cooper, in 1720, gave £300 to purchase an estate, the
profits thereof to be disposed of to poor people not receiving alms or
to bind out poor children with the approbation of Henry Lord
Yiscount St. John. This estate is land consisting of about 15 acres,
situated in South Oerney in Gloucestershire, and produces a rental
of £18 15s. per annum.
2. Thomas Ashness, in 1827, bequeathed £100 in trust for the
use of the poor of this parish, to be distributedjamongst them as the
Vicar and Wardens shall think fit, and the dividend from this is
£3 8s.
3. Anthony Feancis Haldimand, by will of 1815, bequeathed
£200 for the same purpose, the dividend of this^sum is £3 12s. 8d.
4. Rebecca Wood, in 1596, bequeathed £200, the interest of
which is to be distributed annually among 24 decayed families of
the parish, the dividend from this is £6 4s. 9d.
5. Henry Smith, in 1626, bequeathed several pieces of land,
situated in the parishes of Sevenoaks, Seal and Kensing, in the
County of Kent, the profits thereof to be applied to the relief of the
impotent and aged poor who have resided 5 years in one of the
twelve parishes named in his will, to be distributed in apparel of
one colour. The dividend received as the portion due to this parish
is £17 Is.
6. John Conrad R^fp, in 1830, left £200, the interest to be
divided at Christmas between four poor men and four poor women
as the Vicar and Wardens in their discretion should think most
necessitous and deserving of such relief. The amount from this
benefaction is £6 9s. 4d.
7. John Parvin, in 1818, left £1,000, the interest to be laid out
ia coal, candles, broad and flannel and distributed among 40 poor
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widows actually residing in Nine Elms and Battersea Fields. Also
a further sum of £1,000 upon trust to pay one-fourth part of the
interest annually to the trustees of schools formed by the late Lord
St. John in this parish. One-fourth part to be expended in purchasing
of bread to be distributed on the Sunday in every fourth week of
the month. Two-fourths for the use of poor aged men and women
equally in the Workhouse, all to be in the habit of attending Divine
Service in Battersea Church. The last distribution of one-fourth
to parties in the "Workhouse was up to December 26th, 1836. One-
fourth of the second £1,000, was paid away in 1853 for meeting law
charges in the information of B. Starling and C. Bowes renew Scheme
of Sir Walter St. John's Schools, and the two fourths transferred to
the trustees of Sir Walter St. John's Schools in 1863 by order of the
Charity Commissioners. The sum now available from this source
for Christmas distribution is £33 5s. 8d.
8. John Constable left £50 bequest in 1856 for the poor of this
parish. The dividend from this now is £1 19s. 4d.
9. John Banks, in 1716 left by will to five poor men and five
poor women 50s. each per annum, inhabitants of this parish.
Candidates' names for recipients of this charity are forwarded by
recommendation to the Haberdashers' Company of London who
distribute this fund.
10. Henry Jtter, in 1874, bequeathed the sum of £500, the
dividend thereof to be distributed on the 6th February in each year
to 12 needy parishioners of the age of 60 years and upwards.
11. John Edmunds, who in 1708 left £10 per annum for putting
out boy-apprentices. The property bequeathed consisting of a small
tenement in the City has increased in value, and so few applications
of boys or masters are received at the Lammas Hall that the sum
of £730 Is. lOd. is now on deposit to the credit of this charity.
The Parish Officers issue a form to be filled in by all applicants
and to be endorsed by a householder.
"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that
which he hath given will he pay him again." — Prov. xix. 17.
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." — Matthew xxv. 40.
The "Imperial Gazetteer," Vol. p. 130, states that Battersea has
a free school with £160 and other charities with £121."
Churchwardens. — Joseph William Hiscox, Altenburg Terrace,
Lavender Hill; Edward Wood, 6, Shelgate Road, Battersea Eise.
Overseers. — Andrew Cameron, 65, Salcott Road; William Daws,
49, High Street; Robert Steel, Sleaford Street; B. T. L. Thomson,
6, Crown Terrace, Lavender Hill.
Vestry Clerk. — Thomas Harrap, Crown Terrace, Lavender Hill.
The following is the List of Vestrymen and Auditors Elected
under the provisions of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1881 .
Vestrymen Ex-offido — Rev. John Erskine Clarke, Vicar, 6, Altenburg
Gardens; Joseph William Hiscox, 2, Altenburg Terrace, Lavender
Hill; Edward Wood, 6, Shelgate Road, Battersea Rise.
Ward No. 1. (Vestrymen who retire in 1882). — William Duce,
21, Ponton Road, Nine Elms: James Dulley, 85, Battersea Park
Road; Rev. Thomas Lander, St. George's Vicarage, 33, Battersea
Park Road; Samuel Lathey, 1, St. George's Road, New Road;
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Nathaniel Purely, 1, Ponton Terrace, Nine Elms; Thomas D. Tulley
22, Queen's Square, Battersea Park. (Vestrymen who retire in
1883}.— John Gwynne, 64, Stewart's Eoad; Edwin Lathey, 1, St.
George's Eoad, New Boad; Thomas Bead, 41, Battersea Park Eoad;
Frederick Eummins, 49, Lockington Eoad; George T. Smith Wandle
Eoad, Upper Tooting; Bobert Steele, Sleaford Street. (Vestrymen
who retire in 1884). — Thomas Anderson, 37, Battersea Park Eoad;
Charles Clench, 161, Battersea Park Eoad; John Samuel Oldham,
18 , Battersea Park Eoad; Patrick James O'Neil, 145, Battersea
Park Eoad; John "Whiting, c8, Patmore Street; Eleazer Williams,
130, New Eoad. Auditor. — John Douthwaite, St. George's Schools,
New Eoad.
Wakd No. 2. (Vestrymen who retire in 1882). — George F.
Burroughs, 1, Queen's Crescent, Queen's Eoad; John Merritt, 1,
Prospect Cottages, Falcon Grove; John Merry, 237, Battersea Park
Eoad; Thomas Poupart, 399, Battersea Park Eoad; Eev. S. G. Scott,
St. Saviour's Parsonage, Battersea Park; George N. Street, 491,
Battersea Park Eoad; Henry Walkley, 351, Battersea Park Eoad.
(Vestrymen who retire in 1883). — Horace E. Bayfield, 1, Somers
Villas, Lavender Hill; Wm. Jno. Folkard, 12, Eushill Terrace,
Lavender Hill; Charles E. Gay, 41, Orkney Street, Battersea Park
Eoad; Henry John Hansom, Grove End House, Falcon Lane;
Charles Heine, 219, Battersea Park Eoad; B. T. L. Thomson, 6,
Crown Terrace, Lavender Hill; George Ugle, 21, Acanthus Eoad,
Lavender Hill. (Vestrymen who retire in 1 884). — Charles Donaldson
177, Battersea Park Eoad; John Elmslie, 241, Battersea Park Eoad;
William Sangwin, 533, Battersea Park Eoad; Samuel Hancock, 339,
Battersea Park Eoad ; Samuel Bowker, 6, Crown Terrace, Lavender
Hill; Frederick Aubin, 393, Battersea Park Eoad; Charles Spencer,
4, Wycliffe Terrace, Lavender Hill. Auditor. — George Fowler 20,
Queen's Square.
Wakd No. 3. (Vestrymen who retire in 1882). — James Chorley,
69, High Street; William Daws 49, High Street; George Durrant,
22, Bridge Eoad West; William Gerrard, Lombard Eoad; William
Hammond, 72, York Eoad; Henry May Soule, Mayfield, St. John's
Hill; Horsley Woods, 38, Bridge Boad West. (Vestrymen who
retire in 1883).— Bernard Cotter, 228, York Eoad; George Thos.
Dunning, 45, Win6tanley Eoad; William Gosden, 3, Spencer Eoad;
John Thos. Gurling, High Street; Joseph Oakman, The Priory,
High Street; Eev. John Toone, St. Peter's Parsonage, Plough Lane;
John Trott, 75, High Street. (Vestrymen who retire in 1884). —
George Brocking, 27, High Street; William J. Bromley, 12, Olney
Terrace, Plough Lane; John W. Denny 108, York Eoad; Thomas
Gregory, Station Eoad; William Griffin 44, High Street; Joseph
James Kilsby, 189, York Eoad; William Wingate, Sen., 1, High
Street. Auditor. — Charles Earl Holmes, 80, Bridge Eoad.
Ward No. 4. (Vestrymen who retire in 1882). — James Clarke,
2, Eushill Terrace, Lavender Hill; John Davis Hatch, Bolingbroke
Grove, Wandsworth Common ; Alfred Heaver, Homeland, Benerley
Eoad ; Joseph William Hiscox, 2, Altenburg Terrace, Lavender Hill.
(Vestrymen who retire in 1883). — Andrew W. Cameron, 65, Salcott
Eoad; John Cleave, Eaton Villa, Vardens Eoad; Horace Tumor, 63,
Northcote Eoad; Edward Wood, 6, Shelgate Eoad. (Vestrymen
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who retire in 1884). — Francis Cowdry, 25, Belleville Koad; William
Haynes, Eotherstone House, Salcott Eoad ; E. W. Oram, 1 3, dapham
Common Gardens; William "Wilkins, St. John's Eoad, Battersea
Eise. Auditor. — John Tomkins, Heather Villa, Nottingham Eoad,
Wandsworth Common.
Parish Clerk. — James Spice, Bridge Eoad West. '
Beadle. — William Edwards.
Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. — William Griffin, High
Street.
District Surveyor of North Battersea. — H. J. Hansom, Grove-end
House, Falcon Lane.
A Parochial Assembly for conducting the affairs of a Parish, so called because
its meetings were formerly held in the Vestry— a room appended to a Church
in which the sacerdotal vestments and sacred utensils are kept. Vestrymen
are a select number of persons in each parish elected for the management of its
temporal concerns.
The Vestry is the organ through which the Parish speaks, and in numerous
matters relating to church rates, highways, baths and wash-houses and other
sanitary matters, it has important functions to discharge and is a conspicuous
feature of Parochial management. The Vicar is entitled to be chairman. It
is the duty of the Churchwardens and Overseers to keep a book in which to enter
the minutes of the Vestry. The Vestry appoints annually Churchwardens,
nominates Overseers, etc. A Church rate can only be made by a Vestry, and
if the majority choose, to make none. The Vestry Clerk is chosen by the
Vestry; his duty is to give notice of Vestry meetings; to summon the Church-
wardens and Overseers; to keep the minutes, accounts and Vestry books;
recover the arrears of rates; make out the list of persons qualified to act as Jury-
men, and to give notices for to vote for Members of Parliament.
Churchwardens in England aie Ecclesiastical officers appointed by the first
Canon of the Synod of London in 1127. Overseers in every parish were also
appointed by the same body, and they continue now as then established. —
Johnson's Canons.
Churchwardens, by the Canons of 1603, are to be chosen annually. The Com-
mon Law requires that there should be two Churchwardens, one of whom is
appointed by the Incumbent and the other is chosen by the Parishioners in Vestry
assembled. Their primary duty is to see that the fabric of the Church is kept in
good repair, superintending the celebration of public worship, and to form and
regulate other Parochial regulations. The appointment and election take place
in Easter Week of each year.
Overseers are officers who occupy an important position in all the parishes in
England and "Wales, they too are appointed annually. Their primary duty is to
rate the inhabitants to the Poor rate, collect the same, and apply it towards
relief of the poor, besides other miscellaneous duties, such as making out the
list of voters for Members of Parliament. The list of persons in the Parish quali-
fied to serve as Jurors, the list of persons qualified to serve as Parish Constables
They are bound to appoint persons to enforce the Vaccination Acts, etc., etc.
"When the birth of a cnild is registered, the registrar is to give notice of
vaccination; and the child roust be vaccinated within three months. Penalty for
not bringing the child to be vaccinated 20s. If any registrar shall give informa-
tion to a justice that he has reason to believe any child has not been successfully,
vaccinated, and that he has given notice thereof, which notice has been dis-
regarded, the justice may order the child to appear before him, and he may make
an order directing such child to be vaccinated within a certain time, and if at the
expiration of such time the child shall not have been vaccinated, the parent or
person upon whom the order has been served is liable to a penalty not exceeding
20s.
Guardians of the poor, in the English parochial law are important functionaries
elected by a parish or union of parishes; they have the management of the
workhouse and the maintenance, clothing and relief of the poor, and in the re-
gulations must comply with the orders of the Poor Law Board, a central authority,
whose head,is a member of Parliament, their duties are entirely regulated by these
orders, and by statutes.
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Editing Officers.— Mr. Murphy, Wye Street, York Road; Mir.
Tugwell, 479, Battersea Park Road.
Medical Officers. — Dr. Kempster, 247, Battersea Park Road; Dr.
Oakman, The Priory, Battersea Square.
Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisance*. — Mr. Pilditch, Stone Yard,
Battersea, to whom complaints should be made.
Dust Contractor. — Applications to be addressed Board of Works,
Battersea Rise.
Turn-cock. — R. Gray 24, Dickens Street; Assistant dittto. W.
Moore, 24, Parkside Street.
Collectors oj Parochial Bates.— Mr. E. Stocker, 37, St. John's Hill
Grove; Mr. GK Nichols, Pembroke Villa, Falcon Lane; Mr. G. J.
Ghadwin, Lombard Road; Mr. C. Shepherd, 15, Middleton Road,
Battersea Rise.
Collectors of Queen's Taxes. — Mr. A. G. Iago, Gatcombe Villa,
Harbutt Road, Plough Lane, New Wandsworth; Mr. Lewis, Bridge
Road.
The Battersea Tradesmens' Club commenced October 1875, may
be regarded as a local Institution. Its founder was Mr. Elmslie,
the register contains the names of 200 elected members, having for
their object the general interest, improvement and prosperity of the
parish. The club has sustained a heavy loss by the sudden death
of its respected Treasurer, Mr. Henry Kesterton, he was a guardian
of the poor, a member of the vestry, and also of the board of works,
His straightforwardness and generosity inspired much respect.
Deep sympathy with his wife and family was manifested at his funeral,
which was attended by a great number of the leading members
of the club, and other parishioners. His mortal remains were
interred at Norwood Cemetery.
The following gentlemen form the Committee. —
Mr. J. Pochin, 291, Battersea Park Road; J. Evans, 367, Battersea
Park Road; Mr. W. Sangwin, 533, Battersea Park Road; Mr. T.
Bowley, 535, Battersea Park Road; Mr. E. Evans, 287, Battersea
Park Road; Mr. J. Douglas, W. L. Com. Bank; Mr. G. N. Street,
353, Battersea Park Road; Mr. H. Walkley, 351, Battersea Park
Road; Mr. F. Sturges, Orkney Street; Mr. C. E. Gay, 21, Orkney
Street; Mr. B. Hickman, 100, Gwynne Road; H. Winter, 52, Park
Grove.; W. Marsh, Battersea Park Road.
Secretary. — Mr. Robert Oooch, 21, Queen's Square, Queen's Road.
Any person wishing to have his name enrolled as a member of
the Club, must subscribe 10s. yearly.
The temporary Home for lost and starving Dogs, Battersea Park
Road, (removed from Holloway.) Established October 2nd, 1860.
The late Mrs. Tealby was the foundress and unwearied benefactress
of this Institution. In 1875 more than 3,200 dogs were either
restored to their former owners, or sent to new homes, being an
increase of 1094, over the previous year. The home has been visited
by many of the nobility and gentry, and by great kennel owners,
and all have expressed themselves very much pleased with the
-cleanliness, and general good order, which they have observed.
It is gratifying to know that of the many thousands of dogs which
have been brought into the home; there has been no case of
hydrophobia. Every precaution is taken by the committee not to
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allow any dog to be sold for the horrid purpose of vivisection.
There are in stock at the home more than 300 dogs. Keeper at
. the home — Mr. J. Pavitt; open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ; (the
home is entirely closed on Sunday.)
"I cannot understand that morality which excludes animals from
human sympathy, or release man from the debt and obligation h&
owes to them." — Sir John Bowring.
"He prayeth best, who loveth best;
All creatures great and small;
For the great God who loveth us,
He made and loves them all" — Coleridge.
"With eye upraised, his master's look to scan,
The joy, the solace, and the aid of man;
The rich man's guardian and the poor man's friend.
The only creature faithful to the end."
London, Chatham and Dover Railway — Battersea Park Station,.
Battersea Park Eoad, booking office to Victoria, Crystal Palace,
main line and City trains, Blackheath Hill, for Greenwich. Station*
master, Mr. H. Lankman.
York Road Station, Battersea Park — London, Brighton and
South London Line. Station master, Mr. Henry Mead.
West London Commercial Bank, Limited, Established 1866.
Incorporated, under the Joint-Stock Companies' Act 1872. Head
Office — 34, Sloane Square, London, S.W. Battersea Park Branch,
1, Victoria Road. Manager, Mr. George Patrick McCourt.
London and South Western Bank, Head office, 7, Fenchurch
Street. Battersea Branch, Battersea Park Road, opposite Christ
Church. Manager, Mr. J. Barr.
Temperance and Band of Hope Meetings are held at St. George'*
Mission Room, New Road; Arthur Street, Mission Hall, Battersea
Park Road; Grove School Room, York Road, Conductor Mr. G.
Mansell; Temperance Hall, Tyneham Road, Shaftesbury Park
Estate; The Institute, Mill Pond Bridge, Nine Elms Lane, every
Tuesday, commencing at 8 p.m. President, George Howlett, Esq.;
Vice-President, Mr. T. 0. Shutter; Treasurer Mr. D. Greaves;
Financial Secretary, Mr. H. Gitsham; Registrars, Mr. F. Clarke r
Mr. W. R. Josslyn; Corresponding Secretary, Mr. R. Curson, 6,
Horace Street, Wandsworth Road, S.W.
SOUTH LONDON TRAMWAYS. In 1879 a Tram-way wae
constructed in Battersea Park Road. (Turner, Contractor, Chelsea).
Tram cars first commenced running for the conveyance of passengers-
between Falcon Lane and the Rifleman January 6, 1881. The
second portion of the South London Tramways Company's line from
Nine Elms to Clapham Junction was opened for traffic on Saturday
March 12th. 1881.
The Queen's Road and Victoria Road Lines being now completed,
in addition to those previously worked in Falcon Lane and Battersea
Park Road and Nine Elms Lane, Cars are running as under: —
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EVERY TEN MINUTES THROUGHOUT THE DAY, FBOM
Mnss? } " n ot e™ l™.
First Car leaves 7.45 a.m. First Oar leaves 8.15 a.m.
Last Car do. 10.10 p.m. Last Car do. 10.45 p.m.
Do. SatMaysdo.il. 55 p.m. Do.Sat'days do. 11.55 p.m.
Pbinoe's Head, High ) . ( Chelsea Bridge Steamboat
Street, Battebsea. ) ( Pier, via Victoria Boad.
First Car leaves 7.55 a.m. First Car leaves 8.20 a.m.
Last Car do. 9.45 p.m. Last Car do. 10.20 p.m.
Do.Sat'days do. 11. 33 p.m. Do.Sat'days do. 11.10 p.m.
Lavender Hill end of | . ( Brighton Railway Station,
Queen's Road, ) ( Battersea Park Road.
First Car leaves 8.10 a.m. First Car leaves 8.25 a.m.
Last Car do. 10.0 p.m. Last Car do. 10.15 p.m.
Do.Sat'days do. 11.10 p.m. Do. Sat'days do. 10.50 p.m.
In Battersea Park Road the Cars run every 5 minutes between
"Prince's Head" and Victoria Road (South End).
Workmen's Cars will run as heretofore.
On Sundays the Cars commence running about 10 a.m. and finish
as on Weekdays.
FARES.
"The Falcon" to "Clock House" Id.
"Prince's Head" to Victoria Road (South End) Id.
"Clock House" to "Rifleman" Id.
Victoria Road (South End) to Nine Elms , . . . . Id.
Lavender Hill to Chelsea Bridge Id.
Beyond the above distances 2d.
N.B. — The Tickets are only available for a Single Journey upon
the Car where issued.
SEE Page 5.— London & South-Western Railway Goods Station.
OMITTED.— Mr. H. B. Terrill, Cashier.
Mr. J. E. Hawkins, Chief Clerk.
ERRATA. — Instead of Assistant Superintendent read
Chief Inspector, Mr. Robert Lingt.ky.
Instead of Strutton, read Stratton.
ASHFIELD, PRINTER, BRIDGE ROAD WEST, BATTERSEA.
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